Daughter raises awareness after mother trips over e-scooter

The e-scooter was parked on the pavement on Magdalen St East

A woman said she wanted to "raise awareness" after her mother fell over an inappropriately parked e-scooter and suffered injuries to her face and leg.

Kathleen Millet, 81, and her husband Ken, from Wigan in Greater Manchester, were on a weekend break when she had the accident during a coach stopover in Oxford, Oxfordshire.

She tripped over a Voi e-scooter on Magdalen St East and was given first aid by Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service crews travelling in the area.

A Voi spokesperson said they were investigating what had happened.

Ms Millet said her mother had been "badly shaken" after the accident

On 9 August, Mr and Mrs Millet were en route to the Kings Charles's gardens in Highgrove House in Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

She tripped over the e-scooter after she had used the nearby public toilets and fell to the ground, taking another scooter down and suffering multiple injuries.

Her daughter Joanne said the firefighter who tended to Mrs Millet had provided pictures of the accident.

Ms Millet said that the vehicle had been parked "carelessly", not as per Voi's terms and conditions, which state that the vehicles need to be parked "either parallel and close to a wall, in a rack or within a designated parking space.

Pictures sent to Ms Millet show that the e-scooter that tripped her mother had been inappropriately parked

Mrs Millet was then sent to hospital.

Her daughter said that she had had a brain scan and had been given stitches, as she had suffered "a bad slash to left side of her face", tissue damage and hematoma to the left leg.

"She was also badly shaken," Ms Millet told the BBC.

"And still to this day, she is very scared to leave the house which is totally out of character for her."

She thanked the firefighter "for being so kind-hearted" and added she wanted to "raise more awareness for other pedestrians walking in any areas where the e-scooters are".

"They are dangerous, I feel," she said.

The e-scooter public hire scheme is a part of an ongoing national project and Oxfordshire County Council chose Voi e-scooters for the local trial.

A council statement reads that the trial "requires riders to park in designated bays that are either marked on the pavement or are provided as racks".

"We would like to remind people using the public hire e-scooters that it is very important they return them to the designated bays correctly and neatly after using them, to prevent injury,” the statement added.

A Voi spokesperson said the company was "sorry to hear about Ms Millet’s mother’s accident".

"We are in direct contact with Ms Millet about it and are investigating what happened," they added.

“We ask our riders to park considerately in designated parking bays, without blocking the pavement."