A BOY has been left with broken bones after being knocked off his bicycle by a thug on a scooter.
Craig Askham, 12, suffered a broken nose, broken fingers and two black eyes in the incident, which took place on Holays, Dalton, at 6.40pm last Thursday
Craig, of Rawthorpe Lane, Dalton, was riding his bike on the pavement next to mum Kirsty Blackburn as they made their way to a local store.
A youth riding a scooter mounted the pavement behind them and sped towards the pair.
Kirsty jumped into the road to avoid the scooter, but as the rider went past Craig he shoved him, causing him to fall off his bike and into a fence. The rider then sped off.
Kirsty said: “I heard a scooter in the background and as it got closer I turned round and saw it mount the pavement via a drop kerb.
“I jumped out of the way into the road, but the lad on the scooter pushed Craig into a wooden fence and he smashed his face.”
Kirsty rushed a bleeding Craig to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary’s A&E department.
He has been told he cannot return to school until after the next half-term holidays – which begin next Monday – because of his injuries.
He is now recovering at home with Kirsty, his father, Darren Askham, and his three siblings.
Kirsty said: “He’s injured and very, very shaken up.
“He was up all night being sick with the shock.
“He’s 12-years-old, but if he had been younger things could have been a lot worse. We want the person responsible to be found.”
The rider was on a royal blue scooter and wore a dark helmet and a light-coloured jacket.
Police went to Holays just after the incident to see if they could spot the offender, but no sightings were made.
A police spokesman said the incident was being investigated as an offence of dangerous driving.
He appealed for any witnesses or anyone with information to contact police on 0845 6060606 and quote crime reference number EA0733483.
Road safety is one of parents’ biggest fears, says a report from Cambridge University experts.
The report, Community Soundings, involved 700 in-depth interviews with primary school-age children, their teachers and parents.
It is destined to be used as part of the biggest independent review of primary education in 40 years.
The report revealed that the safety of children on Britain’s roads was one of the greatest concerns for parents.
Cathy Keeler, head of campaigns at Huddersfield-based road safety charity Brake, said this was no surprise.
She added: “The report confirms the huge concerns that parents have about child road safety that Brake hears anecdotally on a daily basis.
“Seventy-one children on foot were killed on UK roads last year.
“Many parents live in fear that their child will be knocked down by a vehicle every time they leave the house.
“Brake urges drivers to slow down in any place where children are using roads.
“We also want the Government to require councils to introduce 20mph zones around homes and schools,” added Ms Keeler.
