A HORSFORTH builder who had his bicycle smashed into his face during an incident while he was riding home this week spoke about his ordeal.

The 23-year-old man, who does not wish to be named, had to have an eye stitched, suffered a black eye and cuts to his nose and neck. The wheels, handlebars and brakes of his bicycle were damaged.

The man, who works for a building firm at Otley, was riding his bicycle in Bradford Road, Menston, near to St Mary's Catholic School, at about 5.20pm last Thursday when a car narrowly missed him. "A girl in the back of the car made a two fingered gesture at me.

"The car stopped about 100 yards further along the road and the window was wound down and abuse shouted at me. The car then set off again and nearly knocked me from my bicycle," he said.

The man said because the traffic was heavy the car moved slowly and because he was on a bicycle he was able to move along the slow moving traffic more easily and eventually came upon the car again this time at the traffic lights at the Station Hotel in Otley Road, Guiseley.

"When I reached the car a woman got out and grabbed hold of my helmet and bicycle and hit me a couple of times. I did not lift a finger at her and then a man, the driver, got out of the car and grabbed me in a headlock and punched me six or seven times in the face.

"By this time the woman had got my bicycle and pushed it into my face," he said.

The cyclist said three lads came out of the pub and pulled the girl from him. "The girl spat on me while I was on the ground," he said.

He said the attackers drove away along Oxford Road.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.