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Gravesend mum's hunt for motorist who knocked daughter off bike on school run

A furious mum turned detective to track down a driver who knocked her daughter off her bike, leaving her with a fractured elbow.

Skye Finley was struck down from behind while on Harden Road, Gravesend.

Fiona Ford with daughter Skye Finley, who was knocked off her bike
Fiona Ford with daughter Skye Finley, who was knocked off her bike

The 15-year-old had been riding to school at 8.20am when a white Nissan Note approached and collided with her.

With Skye shaken and injured, a woman reportedly got out of the car and shouted at her saying "look at what you’ve done to my car" before leaving the scene without reporting the crash.

Mum Fiona Ford was left enraged and, determined to track down the driver, she found CCTV, witnesses, and posted an appeal for information on Facebook.

She believes she has whittled the driver down to a Gravesend school.

"They wouldn't tell me anything," she said, after approaching the school.

Skye Finley was injured in a collision with a car in Harden Road, Northfleet
Skye Finley was injured in a collision with a car in Harden Road, Northfleet

"They wouldn't tell me if a car belonged to anyone at the school.

"I had an email exchange with the head teacher - and they wouldn't confirm or deny if they knew the driver of the car."

Miss Ford, 32, a child minder and mortgage advisor, says she has since heard from police, who say a woman has come forward to identify herself as the driver, but fears she could still escape justice.

"I saw an officer on Friday and they said the driver was likely to be reported for failing to report an accident," she added.

"I want to see her banned and I want to know who she is.

"She has made no attempt to apologise to my child; she's had no regard for the welfare of my child.

CCTV footage of the incident

"She's denying it's her fault, which you can see it clearly is."

And she added: "I'm furious. I'm absolutely livid. I'm a child minder and I collect from the school four times a week – I couldn't stand the thought there's someone there who could be smiling in my face when they've injured my daughter.

"I don't want the police painted in a negative light but I don't think six points is an acceptable punishment."

Thanking everyone who had helped in her search for information, Miss Ford had a direct message for the driver involved.

"Unfortunately for me, you are a coward and have not come forward to me nor attempted to apologise to Skye," she posted online.

"I don’t know what was going on in your life that was more important than stopping and doing the right thing.

CCTV shows a white car approach cyclist Skye Finley before the collision
CCTV shows a white car approach cyclist Skye Finley before the collision

"I don’t know why you shouted and swore at my innocent child who you had just hit.

"I don’t know if you have children yourself but imagine being in my shoes.

"Imagine receiving that call to be told that your child had been hit by a car.

"Imagine the stress you could feel when you thought they would try to get away with it.

"Imagine the pain in your heart when you see how bruised and battered your child is.

"Now multiply that by a million and you might feel a snippet of how I felt in those moments."

Miss Ford said X-rays confirmed Skye suffered a fractured elbow, while her forearm bone has been dislodged slightly and there may be some damage to the membrane between bones in her arm.

Her wrist was also in a soft cast and she was due to have further treatment and scans.

Police confirmed they were called to reports of a collision between a car and a cyclist and say enquiries into the incident remain ongoing.

Read more: All the latest news from Gravesend

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