White van man didn't even notice he'd hit me

AS a top mountain biker, Pete Scullion is used to hanging on for dear life as he speeds down challenging courses.

But the adrenalin junkie may think twice before negotiating Edinburgh's rush hour again – after coming a cropper thanks to a white van.

The 22-year-old was knocked from his bike last Wednesday morning while riding north on the A90 close to Cammo Road.

He is now recovering after surgery to straighten a badly broken and dislocated finger, and has been left with a bruised and battered shoulder and knee.

Mr Scullion, a competitive downhill mountain biker in his spare time, said: "I had right of way, I was going north and the van pulled across my lane to get into Cammo Road, and I went into the side of the van at about 20 miles an hour.

"Then the van driver drove off.

"I got up to try and go after the driver because I thought I wasn't that badly injured, but the front wheel wouldn't go, and I believe the handlebars were broken.

"I took my gloves off to try and find my phone and it was obvious that my finger was quite badly dislocated and broken and at that point I thought I'd try and get inside.

"I went down the road and knocked on someone's door and asked if I could use their phone to phone the police and an ambulance."

Mr Scullion said he had been disappointed that no other drivers stopped to help: "I'm pretty sure a lot of people saw what happened, because the two lines of traffic the van came from were stationary rush hour traffic but if so, lots of people saw it and did nothing."

The cyclist said he was not sure if the van driver had even been aware of the collision: "I had a bright orange jacket on and a 900 lumen light on my head, which is brighter than some car headlights, but I think they may have been oblivious, because if they didn't see me coming, then me hitting the side of the van would sound very similar to hitting a large pot hole, so they might have just completely disregarded it and driven off.

"It was a long wheel base white van, possibly a Mercedes Sprinter.

"I'm pretty sure there would be a large black mark above the passenger side rear wheel arch because that's where my tyre hit, so even if someone's discovered a mark on their van and they don't know why it's there – I could probably tell them."

Mr Scullion, who lives in Newington, now faces three weeks in a splint as his finger recovers, but has returned to work as a brand manager at Hotlines Europe in South Queensferry.

He added: "I've been racing bikes since 2003 and normally ride 380 miles a month commute plus cycling at the weekend, so I'm not an inexperienced cyclist."