Call to license mobility scooters

2:50pm Saturday 30th August 2008

A HIT-AND-RUN victim who was knocked down by a mobility scooter has called for a new law to be introduced to license the vehicles.

Dorothy Hudson was hit by the scooter as she walked in Knowsley Street in Bolton town centre.

The 77-year-old widow, of Tonge Moor, was with her sister, Joyce Walker, on a shopping trip when she was hit at about 2.55pm on Tuesday.

Other shoppers dashed to her aid as the man responsible drove away on the scooter.

Speaking from her hospital bed yesterday, the former dinner lady said: “Proper checks need to be made to make sure people are capable of driving the scooters safely.

“The man that knocked me down didn’t seem to have control of the vehicle. He knew he’d hit me, but he sped off without stopping.

“When he hit me, the force of the impact spun me round, and if it wasn’t for my sister catching me as I fell, it could have been a lot worse."

Mrs Hudson underwent surgery on Thursday evening at Royal Bolton Hospital, but the damage caused to her left leg was so bad that she will also need a skin graft and plastic surgery.

She will be transferred to a specialist unit at Wythenshaw Hospital for further surgery in the next few days.