Blind man badly hurt in bicycle hit and run

Former baker Sandy Elliot, 67, suffered haemorrhaging behind his eye, cuts, bruises and a possible fractured eye socket after the cyclist smashed into him at speed on the Ferry Road walkway on Friday morning.

The cyclist got up and made a half-hearted apology before speeding off again, leaving the blind pensioner lying with only his guide dog for company.

Mr Elliot, of Trinity, said: "I had just turned onto the walkway from Warriston Road and went to step on to the path when this guy smashed right into me.

"I didn't hear a thing but he must have been travelling at some speed because his helmet smashed into my face, and his bike crashed into my body and knocked me to the ground.

"He got up and said, 'Sorry, I was looking at my legs' and then I heard him pick up his bike. He said sorry a few more times before speeding off, leaving me lying there by myself.

"I was lying alone for about two minutes with my guide dog, Yeoman, standing by my side licking my face when another cyclist came by and helped me to my feet. Then two other ladies called Candice and Lisa came by and made sure I was okay."

When Mr Elliot returned home he discovered his right knee had swelled up "like an egg" and he had cuts all over his arms. Later that evening he started to feel sick so he was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for X-rays.

The following day an ophthalmologist discovered that he was haemorrhaging behind the eye, and the X-rays revealed a possible fracture to his eye socket.

He added: "Hopefully this man will realise now that the walkway is not a racing strip, and will serve as a lesson to other cyclists too.

"Obviously I couldn't give the police a description of the man, but maybe some of the people that helped me saw something, or maybe he will have the guts to own up to what he did and come forward."

In 2008, actresses Felicity Kendal and Jenny Seagrove led a campaign to crack down on speeding cyclists in London's Kensington Gardens after four dogs were killed and two others seriously injured in suspected collisions.

Mr Elliot, a previous winner in the Evening News Community Awards, lost his sight after developing glaucoma but has continued to work hard. He won the award for best garden in 2007 after being nominated by his daughter.

Daughter Clare, 36, from Leith, said: "It is bad enough leaving anyone lying there but to leave somebody who is blind is unbelievable. It is an absolutely callous act to leave somebody lying there like that."

Spokes, a city cycling lobby group, ran a "Polite Cycling" information campaign two years ago which has since been picked up in Oxford and Glasgow.Representative Ian Maxwell said cyclists needed to be responsible when using shared paths.

"Edinburgh has a great network of shared paths, but unfortunately we are aware of some inconsiderate cyclists who have caused problems," he said. "Cyclists need to keep speeds low on these paths, let people know they are about to pass them and take extra care around dogs and children. It is about common courtesy really."

Police are now appealing for witnesses to the collision.