Cyclist seriously injured after being pushed off by car passenger, police appeal for information

A cyclist in Reading, England, was left seriously injured after a passenger in a car pushed him off his bike last week. 

Police are now appealing for witnesses after Josh Paul was assaulted while out riding, which left him with a fractured jaw and three broken teeth.

The 29-year-old was cycling up Sulham Hill, just outside Reading, on 25 June, when a passenger in a black car shoved him off it. A cyclist who arrived on the scene shortly after the incident said that he had never heard of it happening before.

The crime took place between 8 and 8:20pm last Tuesday.

The investigating officer, PC Jake Schulz, said in a Thames Valley Police statement: "This assault left the victim seriously injured. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the incident, the victim was not able to see the person who carried out the assault, or the car in which they were travelling.

"However, if you have any information which you think could be useful to our investigation, please get in touch by calling us on 101, quoting reference number 43240299907.

"You can also report anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or by making a report online."

Paul's partner, Harriet, told the BBC that he suffered a "quite significant" concussion as well as other injuries, and that the recovery will take months. She added that the keen cyclist will now wear a camera while out cycling.

"It's a shame we are going to have to do that but our trust in drivers at the moment is significantly reduced as a result of this one hideous act," she said. "One idiot showed how good other people are. We saw the best and the worst of humanity that day and the best certainly outweighed the worst."

The first on the scene was Rob Bowen, the owner of AW Cycles in Caversham.

"I have been in the trade for 20 years," he said. "I have heard of people leaning out [of vehicles] and slapping people. But I have never heard of anyone being pushed off like that. It's horrendous. 

"I rarely see incidents like this. It's usually a little bump or a bent wheel. Often it's a mistake, it's not usually someone doing it maliciously."

Earlier this year, two men charged with organised violence in France after pushing cyclists into ditches "for fun" in the south west of the country, were given a two-year prison sentence.

Brice Zanin, a lawyer for several of the victims, told France Inter radio: "The only motive was idiocy, because once the victims had been pushed off their bikes, the men drove off laughing in their car. It was idiocy and a desire to have fun to the detriment of others."