A one-armed cyclist in Germany has received an apology after being fined for riding his bike – with only one hand.

Bogdan Ionescu was handed down a €25 fine because he only had one handbrake on the left side of his bike and no braking mechanism on the right.

Back in March, he was stopped by a police officer who, he claims, told him he was in violation of the law.

Under German road safety rules, bicycles are required to have to have two handlebar brakes. While Mr Ionescu attempted to make this point at the time, the officer insisted that the bike was not roadworthy and charged him accordingly.

However, the incident was investigated by local newspaper the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, which discovered that with its modifications the bike was in fact entirely legal.

Mr Ionescu received an apology and had the fine rescinded this week after the story was picked up by national media.

Speaking to the newspaper, Mr Ionescu said: “It's great news, I'm really happy.”

He said the case had weighed on him for weeks and that he believed he was discriminated against. “It's good that this is how it ends,” he added.