VIDEO: Battered and bruised cyclist, 82, speaks of his anger at white van driver after second hit-and-run in recent years

A grandfather who has been cycling for seven decades was knocked off his bike '“ for the second time in recent years.
Former BAE engineer David Bennett, 82, has been cycling for seven decades and has been the victim of two hit-and-runs in recent yearsFormer BAE engineer David Bennett, 82, has been cycling for seven decades and has been the victim of two hit-and-runs in recent years
Former BAE engineer David Bennett, 82, has been cycling for seven decades and has been the victim of two hit-and-runs in recent years

David Bennett, 82, had to have a brain scan after the hit-and-run in Grange Road, Layton, but escaped serious injury.

It comes a couple of years after he was hurt in a similar crash in Newton Drive.

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The retired BAE engineer, who volunteers at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, said: “There’s too much traffic now. It’s far more dangerous. I think people go too fast.

Former BAE engineer David Bennett, 82, has been cycling for seven decades and has been the victim of two hit-and-runs in recent yearsFormer BAE engineer David Bennett, 82, has been cycling for seven decades and has been the victim of two hit-and-runs in recent years
Former BAE engineer David Bennett, 82, has been cycling for seven decades and has been the victim of two hit-and-runs in recent years

“There’s guys with souped-up cars and after tea they go hell-for-leather.”

Mr Bennett, of Newton Drive, spoke of his anger at the white van driver who left him lying in the road at around noon on Saturday, and hopes officers can trace the vehicle through CCTV footage taken from the scene.

He said: “I don’t want him to get away with it. He’s a menace on the road. It could someone else next.”

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Mr Bennett had been to Layton Library for help with his electronic computer tablet, and to nearby shops, including the Co-op and Costcutter stores.

He began cycling home down Grange Road, towards St Walburgas Road, when he said the white van pulled out of the first road on the left – Wilford Street – and clipped the back of his bike.

He said: “I assumed he would be breaking but he did not slow. He hit the bike at the back and I ended up on the road, hitting my head.”

Mr Bennett looked up to see the van driving off, as residents who heard the bang went to his aid.

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“Two picked me up under my arms and took me to the side of the road,” he said.

“They looked after me really well. I was dazed, lying on the road. It could have been a lot worse.”

Emma Beardall said she “stopped to help him up along with another couple.”

She said: “They phoned the ambulance and police. Some people from the houses on the road came out to help, and we stood and waited for the emergency services to come.

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“When they arrived, we took Mr Bennett’s bike to his house and left it with his neighbour as he asked us to.”

Mr Bennett, who worked for BAE for 31 years, said he tries to cycle every day.

His car is a decade old and has yet to clock 7,000 miles.

He said: “I’m 82 and the medics say it’s the best thing to do.

“If you just sit around when you’re elderly, it’s bad for you. I’m not going to the gym, it’s just boring to me.

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“It’s only because I do the cycling I’m fit enough to recover from something like this.

“There’s something fishy about not stopping. He was determined to get away. It makes you wonder if he had something in the van he did not want the police to see, or had been drinking.”

Mr Bennett is now recovering from his ordeal after being taken to the Victoria Hospital for treatment – and is trying to fix his buckled bike.

His face is bruised and cut. He has a plaster on his scraped hands, and he has a bandage on each leg.

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Mr Bennett said he has been cycling since he was 12, when he would deliver groceries from his father’s shop.

When he was 16, he would cycle to Lancaster on a Sunday, and was injured at Cockerham Sands when somebody opened their car door.

“They stopped and asked how I was. This guy didn’t. He just drove off to avoid being caught,” he said.

Then, two years ago, a car overtook him in Newton Drive and turned left – leaving Mr Bennett “no room” to brake.

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“He never stopped either. It’s getting more dangerous, I must admit, on the main roads,” Mr Bennett added, saying he was left bruised in that crash too.

Lancashire Police said its officers were looking at CCTV footage to try and trace Saturday’s van driver, and appealed for witnesses or those with dashcam footage to come forward.

To report information, call 101, quoting reference 595 of Saturday, September 22.