An 84-year-old Whitfield man has called for drivers to be more careful of vulnerable road users after he was knocked off his mobility scooter and left for dead in a country lane near Waldershare.

Robert Horn, of Bewsbury Crescent, hurt his elbow and was shaken up after a silver Mondeo-style car clipped the back of his scooter, sending it hurtling into a ditch, before speeding off past the entrance to Waldershare Park.

Police are investigating the incident, which happened just after 10am on Saturday.

Mr Horn, a retired builder who used to live and work in Barham, said: “Luckily I used my mirrors and saw him coming close behind me so I turned closer to the verge to give him more room. But he clipped me and pushed me into the bank.

“He did not stop. There were no brake lights so he didn’t even attempt to slow down.”

The pensioner believes the driver was speeding and is not sure whether it was a man or woman behind the wheel.

Mr Horn usually rides his scooter on roads and in fields with his dog running beside him.

“He did not stop. There were no brake lights so he didn’t even attempt to slow down.”- Mr Horn.

On Saturday he had travelled through Coldred, Shepherdswell and Waldershare and had placed a high visibility jacket over the seat so he could be seen by drivers.

He added: “A woman drove past and I tried to flag her down but she didn’t stop.

“A man in a BMW stopped to help and then soon after, a woman did too.”

They called an ambulance crew who checked him over, and police officers came to investigate.

His scooter, £2,000 when new, was damaged from the impact. The axle is out of alignment and the rear wheel came off from the force. A man who knew him stopped and loaded the mobility scooter on to the back of his truck, taking it back to his home.

PC Richard Cousins said: “The driver of the Ford would have known they had collided with the mobility scooter but did not stop to check the rider was OK.

“We also believe another vehicle may have driven past immediately after the incident, and again did not stop to see if the elderly man was OK.

“Thankfully he only received minor injuries but we need to speak to the car drivers and anyone who may have witnessed the collision.”