CELEBRITY chef James Martin has cooked up a storm after revealing how he inflicted ''sheer terror'' on cyclists.

Martin, originally from North Yorkshire, told in a magazine column how he forced a group into a hedge while test-driving a sports car.

He described the incident as the ''best thing I've ever seen in my rear-view mirror''.

A national cycling group, which said it had been ''inundated'' with emails from members angry at the article, branded the comments as ''offensive and dangerous''.

In the Mail on Sunday newspaper's Live magazine, Martin spoke of his ''hate'' for cyclists.

''That's one of the reasons I live in the countryside, where birds tweet, horses roam, pigs grunt and Lycra-clad buttocks are miles away,'' he said.

But, during a test drive, he told how he decided to take out his anger on a group cycling near to his home.

He said they were dressed in ''fluorescent Spider-Man outfits, shades, bum bags and stupid cleated shoes''.

''Twenty minutes into my test drive I pulled round a leafy bend, enjoying the birdsong - and spotted those damned Spider-Man cyclists,'' he said.

''Knowing they wouldn't hear me coming, I stepped on the gas, waited until the split second before I overtook them, then gave them an almighty blast on the horn at the exact same time I passed them at speed.

''The look of sheer terror as they tottered into the hedge was the best thing I've ever seen in my rear-view mirror.''

Martin's father ran the catering side of Castle Howard in North Yorkshire and, at the age of 12, James could already boast he had cooked for the Queen Mother on her visit there.

At the age of 16, he went to Scarborough technical College to begin his formal training as a chef and whilst there was spotted by Antony Worrall Thompson, who brought him to London to work.

A spokeswoman for Martin said she did not wish to comment on the reaction to the article.

But Roger Geffen, campaigns and policy manager at CTC, the UK's national cyclists' organisation, said: ''James Martin's comments and actions are both offensive and dangerous to cyclists.

''We urge the group of cyclists who James Martin attempted to run off the road to get in touch with CTC's Accident Helpline. Our legal team would be only too happy to take the matter further.''

He added he was ''appalled'' at Martin's comments.