PEDESTRIAN Andy Clapham was twice knocked down by a rat-running driver who then returned to the scene of the accident to steal the piece of paper he had written the car's registration number on.

But despite his ordeal the sharp-minded 55-year-old provided police with a vital clue in their investigation of the incident by writing the number in his boot too.

Mr Clapham's nightmare experience began when he was hit by the car while walking up Old Pool Bank last Wednesday morning.

When the driver refused to give Mr Clapham his name he ran into him again and drove off.

Then, as the Park Mount resident lay injured in the road, the motorist ran back from his car to snatch the piece of paper on which Mr Clapham had written the registration number.

Recalling the incident Mr Clapham said: "The first I heard was the car horn behind me, then I span around and he went into my shin.

"I stumbled backwards and said 'what are you doing?' I got no response so I got a piece of paper and pen out and wrote his registration down, then asked for his name.

"He didn't respond so I got nearer and he put his foot down and set off again, hitting me all down my left side, which knocked me into the road.

"He raced up the road but then stopped, came back and actually took the paper out of my hand before driving off again. It was like something from a film.

"A resident helped me into a driveway and she asked if I remembered his number. Fortunately I did, and I still had the pen - so I wrote it onto the inside of my leather boots!"

That piece of quick-thinking has given the police, who are treating the incident as assault, a very strong chance of tracing the driver.

Mr Clapham attended the casualty department of Wharfedale Hospital the following day but had, surprisingly, only suffered a knock on the head and bad bruising. He is also being treated for neck pain.

And he is more convinced than ever that urgent action is needed to stop rat-runners using the access only route.

He said: "The road needs a speed restriction for definite, it's 60mph at the moment which is ridiculous, and it needs bigger signs saying it's for residents only with a sign underneath saying 'If you enter you are breaking the law'."

It was Old Pool Bank resident Lorenza Kelly, joined by a neighbour, who went to Mr Clapham's aid.

She said: "I was getting the children ready for school and heard a screech, and the kids said they thought someone had been knocked down.

"I saw a man running up the bank to his car and I thought it must be bad, and that he was running to call an

ambulance. But then I saw the man who had been knocked over on the ground.

"I asked him if he was all right and he explained what had happened.

"So I had seen the driver running back to his car to get away, not to help!

"For somebody to knock you over and then run back to steal the paper from your hand is unbelievable."

Mrs Kelly herself was hit on the road by a car illegally using it as she was driving her four children back from school on May 18.

The driver on this occasion had admitted he was not a resident and had been 'cutting through' to save time on his way to Harrogate.

Mrs Kelly said: "He was very apologetic and luckily my car only got a slight bump but he was going over the brow of the hill too fast and if he had hit a child he would have killed them.

"What these people are doing is illegal."

Mrs Kelly and neighbour Joanne Mallinson have been urging the police and city council to take action to stop rat-runners for years.

Mrs Mallinson said: "Following the crash reported at the top of the Bank this makes three accidents in two months."

Police Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator for Weetwood-Pudsey, Peter Krushniak confirmed that the incident was being investigated.

He said: "We have got the registration number of the vehicle and inquiries are in progress to trace the driver who will be interviewed about the matter."