Woman injured in e-bike 'hit and run'

A woman said she was left "flat on her face" and bleeding after a cyclist riding an e-bike drove into her while she was out on a walk.

Ally Whyatt, 77 from Skellingthorpe, described the incident as a "hit and run" and said she needed a brain scan and hospital treatment for a cut elbow following the crash.

"I was shocked, I couldn't believe what happened," she said.

Lincolnshire Police said it was investigating the collision and urged anyone with information to come forward.

According to Whyatt, she and her husband were walking on a public cycle path known as route 64 in Skellingthorpe on 25 June.

E-bikes can be ridden on a road or cycle path by people aged 14 and above as long as they have pedals and are not able to exceed 15.5mph (24.9km/h).

While walking Whyatt said she saw a man driving an e-bike lose control of his vehicle while "going at some speed" towards her.

"He must have been doing 20-30mph," she said.

"[He] just barged into me and knocked me flying," she recalled.

When she was hit, she said she banged her head, cut her elbow, grazed her knee and knocked her shoulder.

Her husband, Mike Whyatt, 81, said the cyclist, who did not stop to help his wife, swore at Ally after he hit her.

"He was very abusive, very aggressive" Mike said.

"He disappeared off into the distance shouting and swearing at her," he added.

Insp Jason Baxter from Lincolnshire Police said: "The person on the e-bike saw fit to leave the scene, which is completely unacceptable.

"We do have CCTV of somebody in the area that we'd like to speak to, and we urge that person to come forward, or if anybody knows who that is give us the details because we want to speak to them."

On 6 June the force seized 26 illegal e-scooters and bikes in a targeted operation across the county.

Baxter said there was a problem with e-bikes not just in Lincolnshire but nationally.

"People are using them for anti-social behaviour as well as used in crime because they feel as though it's a good tool for their criminality," he said.

The couple said they believed e-bikes could be "very dangerous".

"I suppose they would be alright in the right hands but they don't appear to be most of the time," Mike said.

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