A TYLDESLEY resident is counting herself lucky that she wasn’t seriously injured after being knocked over by a young cyclist on the footpath next to the guided bus route.

Glenys Williams was walking with her husband on the morning of Saturday, June 5 – something she does regularly – when she was “completely bowled over” by a cyclist on the footpath.

The 58-year-old suffered a fractured ankle and other cuts and bruises when she was thrown up into the air and landed on the floor with the young rider and her bike on top of her.

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Glenys, who is now unable to walk for the next six weeks, is concerned that if it had been a young child or an elderly person on the footpath, then the injuries could have been much worse.

Glenys said: “This has literally been an accident waiting to happen for months and had it been someone more elderly, a small child or even a dog, then the outcome would have been much more serious.

“During the pandemic, the number of cyclists on this path has obviously increased and they just aren’t aware of how fast they are travelling and how much damage they can do to people walking.”

Glenys usually walks on the footpath adjacent to the guided bus route early each day to avoid the crowds that build up later in the day, especially during nice weather, and the accident happened just after 9am near Cooling Lane.

“I’m a fit and agile person and I think I’ve been incredibly lucky to get away with just a fractured ankle – it could have been worse.

“People need to be aware of cyclists and cyclists definitely need to be more aware of people.”