Cyclists have become victims of a warped trend which sees van passengers pushing them off their bikes.

A number of riders and witnesses have described incidents where cyclists have fallen into roadside ditches and bushes as a white van drives close to them.

Last week we reported how a man in his 60s was left with a bloody chin when he was targeted before another identical incident near Marden.

Tesco Worker Duncan Hall was lucky not to be injured when he ended up in a bush when a passenger forced him off the road on Sunday, January 6.

The 46-year-old was cycling from Grove Green to his home in Lordswood at around 6.30pm before the shocking incident.

He said: “I was heading through Boxley and there was a car behind me and a van behind that.

“The car behind me wasn’t overtaking because there were other cars coming in the other direction.

“The car went past me later and then the white van turned right into Pilgrims Way.

"I was more angry than anything...” Ducan Hall

“I turned left towards Boxley Hill and then the van behind me came close to me.

“The next minute I saw this hand come out and push my hip and I ended up landing in a bush.”

Mr Hall said while he wasn’t hurt when he came off his bike, the outcome could have been different.

He added: “I wasn’t hurt but there could have been glass on the ground. I was more angry than anything.”

Ian Roots, from Staplehurst, witnessed another episode where a cyclist, aged in his 60s, was pushed off his bike by yet another passing van passenger.

The 44-year-old was taking his son to soft play in Tonbridge on Sunday, December 30, when a Transit Connect drove off from the scene.

Mr Roots, an auto electrician, was driving down Underlyn Lane, in Marden, to find the cyclist on the ground.

He said: “When I came round the corner there was a guy who had fallen off his bike.

“As he was going along he said a van slowed down and someone leaned out the window and shoved him.

“I work with vehicles all the time and I could tell it was a Transit Connect but we didn’t see the number plate.

“He wasn’t hurt but he was shocked and angry.

“The man was a similar age to the person who was pushed in Frittenden so “He was maybe aged in his 60s.

“You don’t want to see anyone pushed off their bike.”

Last week, the KentOnline reported how a cyclist in his 60s suffered a cut to his chin when he was pushed from his bike by a passenger hanging out the side of a van.

“You don’t want to see anyone pushed off their bike..” Ian Roots

The episode happened in Frittenden, near Staplehurst two weeks ago.

Iain Morris said his partner Denise was driving when she witnessed the incident in Water Lane at around 2pm.

The 46-year-old said: “My other half was on her way to the stable yard to see her horse and go riding.

“As she was looking to turn left into the driveway she noticed a cyclist and behind him was a white van.

“She didn’t think much of it but she looked in her rear view mirror and the guy was sticking out of the passenger side of the van.

“She realised they were going to push the cyclist and they shoved him into the ditch. He was very shaken up and bleeding from his chin.

“What those people in the van did was very reckless and it could have injured that gentleman.”.