Pavement cyclist faces charges and media backlash after hitting toddler in incident caught on CCTV

A Blackpool cyclist is due to speak to police following a pavement hit and run involving a three-year-old girl. The incident was captured by a home CCTV camera and has led to the Daily Mail branding him ‘the most callous cyclist in Britain’.

In the video footage, the cyclist can be seen hitting Lucie Wilding and subsequently dragging her along the pavement.

Lucie’s mother, Lauren Howarth, told the Blackpool Gazette that she had been about to put her in the car for the school run when the incident took place.

“Lucie came out of our garden and this cyclist just whacked her. He just came out of nowhere, it happened in the blink of an eye. I hadn’t seen him but I never thought I’d have to look left and right coming from your doorstep.

“He hit her and the bike carried her along the front of our house, about 10 feet, then he fell off and it sort of released her and she was just lying there. For a second I thought he’d killed her. All of a sudden she let out this piercing scream, I’ve never heard a cry like it.”

Lucie’s father, Matt, can then be seen rushing to his injured daughter, but Lauren said that the cyclist quickly left.

“I was expecting him to say ‘I’m so sorry, is everyone okay?’ or something like that but there was nothing. As soon as he got up he started swearing at us, as if it was Lucie’s fault that he had hit her. The next thing we knew he’d gone and we’ve not heard from him since.”

A man in his twenties has since come forward and will be spoken to by Lancashire police. Investigating officer PC Joanna Mills said:

“There are a number of offences that will be discussed with this man – riding on pavements and dangerous cycling. For a three-year-old this isn’t a pleasant experience when you’re just walking from your home to your car. Lucie is lucky she’s escaped with only scrapes and bruises. It could have been a lot worse.”

The horrific nature of the incident and the man’s subsequent behaviour has led to the Daily Mail branding him ‘the most callous cyclist in Britain’. The newspaper has also since run a similar story involving a nine-year-old girl who suffered a broken wrist after being hit by a cyclist who mounted the pavement to overtake a bus.