Pensioner, 84, left injured by hit-and-run driver on mobility scooter

Audrey Lane was knocked down by the electric vehicle, which drove off at less than eight miles an hour.

The pensioner, from Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, is being treated in hospital for a broken leg and wrist. Officers are examining CCTV footage to trace the driver.

He could face assault charges, or even be charged with dangerous driving, under changes to the Road Traffic Act made two years ago, police said.

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Mrs Lane's son Daniel, 59, today criticised the law that allows users of battery-powered machines to drive them without taking a test.

He said his mother had been on her way to meet a friend for lunch and was standing with her shopping, waiting to cross Tewkesbury High Street.

"The next thing she knew, she had been hit from behind by this man on a mobility scooter.

"She was in the middle of the road lying on the floor and her shopping bag was thrown half-way across the street.

"She remembers the incident clearly. He told her, 'I can't stop, I'm busy,' then went off."

Mr Lane added: "There is no competency test for these vehicles, and very little restriction on them.

"It may only have been going between four and eight miles an hour, but when you hit an elderly lady on the pavement I think that is pretty quick."

Doctors cannot yet say when Mrs Lane will be able to leave hospital, but her son said: "It's going to be at least six weeks of pain and not being able to move until the plaster comes off."

It will be a severe blow for a woman who still maintains the spirit of independence she learned as a Land Girl and has lived alone since her husband Jim died seven years ago.

Mr Lane said: "She is extremely independent. She likes to do things for herself, such as gardening and decorating, and is very frustrated when she can't."

Passers-by rushed to help Mrs Lane immediately after the incident without paying attention to the scooter driver's getaway.

Inspector Les Pritchard of Gloucestershire Police said mobility scooters had been covered by the Road Traffic Act since 2006.

That meant the driver could face a charge of failing to stop after an accident, or driving without due care and attention.

He added: "Incidents like this involving such scooters are not common, and offences of failure-to-stop relating to them are almost unheard of.

"There is also the potential that he could be charged with an assault. However, that would be more appropriate to an incident where a vehicle was used to deliberately run someone over.

A decision on what action to take will not be made until the driver has been traced and interviewed, Insp Pritchard said.

The man is described as white, 50 or older, with dark clothing and mousy brown straggly hair.

Neither a driving licence nor insurance is required to get behind the wheel of a scooter, but the largest category must have lights, indicators, a horn, a rear-view mirror, rear reflectors and a manual handbrake.

Guidelines published by Mobility Scooters Plus, which sells a range of the vehicles, remind customers that all scooters capable of speeds over 4mph must have a valid tax disc.

A spokesman for the company said: "Generally speaking, mobility scooters can be driven - with care! - on public pathways and pavements. The larger scooters, the ones that go at 8 miles per hour, are legally allowed on the roads.

"However, experience has taught us that driving your scooter on public roads should be avoided wherever possible."