'My life changed forever after e-bike hit me'

Carol Smithers says she has had panic attacks since being knocked down by an e-bike

A woman says her life has been changed forever after she was hit by an e-bike.

Carol Smithers was crossing a road in Carlisle in May 2023 when she was struck "out of nowhere".

The 79-year-old said not only had she been left using walking sticks but the crash had impacted on her mental health and taken away her confidence. No arrests were ever made.

She has launched a campaign urging the government to introduce tougher action for those misusing e-bikes and for training to be enforced.

Mrs Smithers was on her way to see her daughter Tracy when she was hit crossing Scotland Road on a Friday evening, falling to the ground.

"I was in shock and I turned around and I saw an e-bike going down and disappearing very quickly," she said.

Mrs Smithers says she has to use two walking sticks to get about due to a lack of confidence with her balance

Her daughter told BBC Radio Cumbria the electric bike came from the other side of the road when it hit her mother.

"She got up and people around her helped her at the time, she then came up to see me and said, 'Oh I've just been knocked over', not really realising what had happened because of shock," she said. "I was so worried about her."

They decided to go to Cumbria Police after those who helped said the bike was an e-bike which was "so quiet."

Previously an avid walker, Mrs Smithers, who lives in Carlisle, said the incident had resulted in frequent panic attacks.

"I have to use one stick for confidence because of my balance," she said. "But it is the panic, because it is more debilitating than the pain.

She said an incident that happened two years ago had "taken away" her confidence.

"When things like this happen, it is not always an immediate change, it happens over time and it's been life-changing for her and for us," her daughter added.

'Causing nuisance'

Electrically assisted pedal cycles are legal to ride at 14 years old and over, as long as they do not travel beyond 15.5mph (25km/h) while in powered mode.

Mrs Smithers' daughter said there needed to be a code of conduct and more awareness of how to ride e-bikes and e-scooters safely.

"We are not saying there's anything wrong with e-bikes if they are ridden properly, it is the fact that there's no regulation or legislation in place and no code of conduct," she said.

It comes as Cumbria Police launch a 15-week long operation focusing on electric scooters and bikes following reports of anti-social behaviour across the county.

Cumbria's Police Fire and Crime Commissioner David Allen, Labour, said he received reports about the misuse of electric scooters and bikes "on a regular basis".

"We need to get the education out that you can buy an e-scooter, you can't use it on the road and they are causing a lot of nuisance up and down the towns."

The Department for Transport has been approached for comment.