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A pensioner has told of her shock after narrowly avoiding a collision with an illegally riden e-scooter.

Caroline Keene, 72, of Goring, was making her weekly journey into Worthing town centre while her husband played golf last Saturday.

As she stepped off the bus at about 10am, just outside Marks & Spencer in Worthing, an electric scooter, also known as an e-scooter, went past and nearly knocked her off her feet.

The incident happened close to Marks and Spencers

She said: “I didn’t see the person coming so I took a step off the bus and I just froze on the spot.

“They just went whizzing straight in front of me and I stopped dead in my tracks, but if I had taken one more step I could have been hit.

“The person just carried on with no apology and didn’t slow down.

“It wasn’t until the lady who was behind me said what could have happened that it dawned on me – I could have ended up in A&E, or much worse.

“The ordeal did leave me in shock for a little bit.”

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Caroline said she reported the incident at Worthing Police Station, where officers informed her it was illegal for people to ride e-scooters on pavements and roads.

Sussex Police advises e-scooters are illegal on roads because there are no ways to register, insure or tax them currently. It is, however, legal for people to use an e-scooter on private land with the permission of the land owner.

Chief Inspector Michael Hodder said: “E-scooters are becoming more widely available to purchase, and although it is illegal to ride a privately purchased e-scooter in public, they are not illegal  to purchase. Riders are subject to the same laws a motorist would need to drive lawfully on the road, including the requirement to have a valid licence, insurance, registration plates and vehicle licensing, and to have the correct registration.”

Police advice also states that owners of e-scooters are advised that if they are seen riding an e-scooter in Sussex they can be arrested for offences such as driving an e-scooter under the influence of drink or drugs, driving an e-scooter while disqualified or causing death or serious injury via a collision while driving an e-scooter. The police statement added that well as the potential for arrest, people could face being prosecuted and e-scooters being seized.

For more information, visit www.sussex.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rs/road-safety/advice-escooters

Shock after close call with e-scooter