Pedal power: David Cameron had to apologise for cycling the wrong way down a one-way street Times Newspapers Ltd

CYCLISTS in a west London borough will be permitted to ride the wrong way along one-way streets under plans to get more people to ditch their cars.

Kensington & Chelsea will allow cyclists to ignore no-entry signs after the Government today gave the green light to a trial scheme.

If the project proves successful thousands of one-way streets will become two-way for bikes across Britain.

Conservative leader David Cameron, a Kensington & Chelsea resident, apologized after being photographed cycling the wrong way up a one-way street on his journey to Westminster from his Notting Hill home in March last year.

Under the trial scheme “Except cyclists” will be attached to poles carrying no-entry signs on the council’s roads.

"We’ve been campaigning to allow two-way cycling on one-way streets for years"

It was prompted by the deputy leader of the Conservative-controlled council, Daniel Moylan, who saw hundreds of cyclists ignoring one way signs outside his home.

He said: “If this is what cyclists want to do and they can do it safely, then we see it as our responsibility to adapt the legal position to allow them to do it legally.”

There are already “contraflow” lanes which require authorities to build separate entrances for cyclists so that they do not have to break traffic rules.

Hackney Council in East London pioneered the introduction of the lanes and now has the highest rate of cycling of any London borough.

Chris Peck, policy officer of the Cyclists’ Touring Club, said: “We’ve been campaigning to allow two-way cycling on one-way streets for years and we are delighted that finally the Government is permitting a sign that is easy to understand.”