Disabled cyclist left with broken jaw by bike robbers
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I am angry. To me, my bike was like my wheelchair – I used it to go everywhere so it was a massive loss.
Ian Bradley
ADISABLED man has described the moment he was robbed of his bike in a horrific attack that left him with a fractured jaw, a broken tooth and two black eyes.
Ian Bradley, of Hartcliffe, had just been to the shops and was on his way back home when he decided to take the countryside-way back to his flat in Bishport Avenue.
He was on his Giant Talon mountain bike, worth around £750 which he bought around 18 months ago.
As he joined the path off Hareclive Road, Mr Bradley, 47, says he saw two men and one of them grabbed him and started hitting him in the face.
He said: “It was horrific and instant - he started hitting me straight away and was shouting at me and saying ‘I want your bike’.
“I was holding on to my bike so I couldn’t defend myself.
“He must have hit me 20 or 30 times – it was brutal.”
Mr Bradley said the attacker started strangling him when he would not let go of his bike.
He said: “It was incredibly scary. He took me to the floor and was saying ‘I am going to put you to sleep’.
“He was squeezing and squeezing and I was panicking because he held me for quite a while.
“It was long enough to make me really scared for my life and that is not an exaggeration.
“When he was strangling me, I didn’t know if he was going to let go.
“I had never been in that situation before and I do not want to be ever again.”
Mr Bradley said the attack left him with a fractured jaw, two black eyes, a broken tooth as well as cuts and bruising all over his face.
He was taken to the A&E depart
ment at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, where he had a CT scan for his fractured jaw.
He said: “I am angry. To me, my bike was like my wheelchair – I used it to go everywhere so it was a massive loss.
“For quite a few weeks after the attack, I was nervous to go out of the house.
“The attack left me with no means to go anywhere and I was housebound for two or three weeks after.”
Mr Bradley - who used to work as a lift engineer but is now classed as disabled - said he was left with a severe leg injury after an accident at work, which means he struggles to walk.
Since the attack he has given a free bike by someone he met on social media, but he would like to buy a better one which is why he set up a fundraising page.
Within less than two weeks, the page has raised £570.
He said: “People have been amazing It has restored my faith in humankind.”
Avon and Somerset Police said the force received a report of a robbery which took place in green space located between Briscoes Avenue, Hawkfield Road and Wroughton Drive, Bristol, on Thursday, April 9 at around 7.30pm.
The police statement continued: “A man in his 40s from Bristol was left with significant facial injuries after being assaulted by two unknown male offenders who stole his bike.
“We arrested a 38-year-old man in connection with the incident but he has since been released with no further action due to insufficient evidence.”
Anyone with information that could assist police with their enquiries should contact 101 and give the call handler the reference number 5220079443.