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Van driver who chased cyclist and knocked him off bike 'had a gun'

Police seek witnesses to incident last Wednesday evening in Wokingham, Berkshire

A cyclist who was reportedly chased by the driver of a white van who knocked him off his bike told a person who went to his aid that the motorist had a gun.

Thames Valley Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened in Wokingham, Berkshire between 9.30pm and 10.15pm on the evening of Wednesday 7 September.

The force says that a member of the public saw the white van, which had ladders on its roof, being driving “erratically” on the Wiltshire Road in Elizabeth Park.

The witness said the motorist appeared to be chasing the male cyclist and collided with him, knocking him from his bike and then driving off.

When the person went to check that the cyclist was okay, the rider said, “He’s got a gun,” then got back on his bike and rode off in the direction of Norreys Avenue.

Police say that they were notified of a separate incident that evening that they believe may be linked.

PC Benjamin Taylor of the Wokingham neighbourhood team said: “There was a further report that night of someone in a white van pointing a gun and a knife and driving erratically.

“So we would urge anyone with any information about this van or who might have seen this incident in Wiltshire Road to contact us.”

PC Taylor can be reached through the Thames Valley Police Enquiry Centre on 101 quoting URN 1796 7/9, or alternatively anyone with information can contact the charity, Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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8 comments

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emishi55 | 7 years ago
2 likes

Van as weapon... "careless driving" ? 

Gun as weapon..hmmm....

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Housecathst | 7 years ago
3 likes

Sounds like a possible terrorist incident to me, I hope the police will be treating it as such, lest we forget ....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36800730

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ChrisB200SX | 7 years ago
3 likes

I've just reported an erratic van driver in relation to this as it's only a few miles away. He nearly swiped the cyclist ahead of me, then pulled out straight in front of me before trying to run me off the road at the roundabout while making rude hand gestures at me.
He pulled out of a site that is undergoing building work and went into Reading Uni... they have traffic cameras there! With any luck my information will catch this guy, if it's the same guy.

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Steezysix | 7 years ago
1 like

I think it's lucky there was a gun involved. This way the police will actually give a shit about it.

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brooksby replied to Steezysix | 7 years ago
0 likes

Steezysix wrote:

I think it's lucky there was a gun involved. This way the police will actually give a shit about it.

I wonder if there was, though: maybe the cyclist *thought* they saw something that *might* be a gun, and mentioned that so the police would put down their coffee and doughnuts...

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scooterjinx | 7 years ago
0 likes

Apparently the cyclist was an escaped chav from Bracknell

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LastBoyScout | 7 years ago
0 likes

I live in Wokingham, but it's the first I've heard about this incident.

Will keep an eye out for the van, anyway.

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burtthebike | 7 years ago
0 likes

Taking "White Van Man" behaviour to a whole new level.  Hopefully, this won't catch on.

I somehow can't see the police ignoring this one!

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