Town centre business owner wants action after e-bike crash

Warning: Below is a graphic image of a wound that some might find distressing

Roger Shakles, 61, who owns and runs Sewcraft on Havelock Street, says he regularly sees what he believes to be illegal bikes whizzing dangerously past his store - which sits in a pedestrianised zone.  

And he has spoken out after an incident last month which left him needing medical treatment. 

Roger was on his own bike, cycling to work, when he came to the underpass to go across Greenbridge. 

He says a young woman on an illegal e-bike was coming in the other direction, but while Roger was able to brake, come to a stop and put his feet on the floor, she was not able slow down and ended up crashing straight into him. 

"She said to me 'What happened?," he said. "I replied, 'I don't know, I've stopped, you tell me.'

At this point, Roger says she told him that her bike, which had a big hub on the back wheel to allow it to go faster, did not have any working brakes. 

"When it happened she was on the floor moaning and I realised I was bleeding from my eyebrow and nose. 

"She then told me she had a sore head, she had essentially headbutted me in the face."

Roger had to spend all day in hospital and needed to go to Oxford to get the wound properly stitched because of its severity. 

He also needed to have a tetanus jab and antibiotics. 

Roger's nasty wound after being hit by a suspected illegal e-bike travelling at speed (Image: Roger Shakles) "Legal e-bikes aren't an issue," he said, "they assist the actual pedalling and are fine, but these bikes are just press a button and go, and the speeds they reach are too far.

"I was lucky I was able to get my feet on my floor before she hit me otherwise I'd have gone over the handlebars and who knows what would have happened.

"It could have been an elderly person or even a kid there, and that could kill them."

He added: "It's only a matter of time until somebody does get seriously hurt, so something needs to be done.

"These bikes either need to be banned, or people should be made to get licensed like a car, with registration and insurance.

"We have people coming up and down Havelock Street, and I quite often have words with them only to get abuse back.

"There are signs up on each end of the street, no cycling signs up, a lot of people just don’t care."