Andy Thornley

Police Appeal For Assaulted Cyclist To Come Forward

Police are appealing for a cyclist who was assaulted by a van driver to come forward after a shocking video of the incident appeared on YouTube.

The video shows the cyclist riding along the inside of the van and somebody — it is unclear who — shouts “get off your phone you muppet”. The van appears to then swerve in to the cyclist, knocking him off, before the driver gets out and floors the cyclist with a punch. A passer-by, also on a bike, then appears in shot and grapples with the sweary driver before coming to the prone cyclist’s aid. The incident appears to have taken place on Butts Green Road, East London, close to Emerson Park station.

The incident was reported to Essex Police who have appealed on social media for the victim to come forward so they can investigate the incident. The area actually falls within the jurisdiction of the Met police, but we’re sure their colleagues in across the county border will pass on any information received.

The van was clearly marked with the branding of Taylor Landscaping based in Colchester. We approached the firm to comment on the story; however nobody at the business was answering calls this morning. They did respond to the Daily Mail however, saying they were aware of existence of the video but would not be commenting on it.