'˜Cyclist did this and he didn't apologise'

The 49-year-old from Preston suffered severe facial injuries in the collision as she was out for a stroll on Blackpool seafront. The rider needed first aid, but then refused to give his name and address and cycled off without, claims Marilyn, even offering an apology.

Marilyn, who is recovering back home in Coniston Road, Fulwood, said: “The least he could have done was say ‘sorry. His bike hit me full-on in the face. I could have been seriously hurt, but he didn’t wait around to find out.”

The collision happened as full-time carer Marilyn was walking along a seafront path at North Shore. She was with her 85-year-old wheelchair-bound mother and a friend with two small dogs.

“My phone rang, so my friend took the wheelchair and I got hold of the dogs’ leads while I talked,” said Marilyn. “As we walked along I bent down to see to one of the dogs and ‘bang.’ This man on a bike came out of nowhere and smashed straight into me head-on.

“It’s quite narrow on that pathway and there isn’t much room when you’ve got a wheelchair and two dogs. But the cyclist didn’t need to be down there on the footpath, there was a special bike lane on the level above. He should have been up there, although the council said this was shared space, so bikes are allowed.”

Marilyn later had an X-ray at the Royal Preston Hospital. She had facial, chest, hand and elbow injuries, but fortunately nothing was broken.

Police have now issued an appeal for anyone who saw the incident or knows who the rider was to get in touch on 101 quoting log number 1070 of March 16. Marilyn said he was aged between 60 and 70, wearing lycra with ‘Sky’ down the legs. He is thought to come from Lytham St Annes.