DOGWALKERS have told of the harrowing moment their pooch was run over by an electric bike in a park and are concerned for the safety of dogs and children.
Andrew and Gaynor Parry were walking their labradoodles Bertie, 4, and Ted, 9, at Hove Park in early December.
The couple described the moment as Bertie was “slammed” accidentally by the man on an electric bicycle who came down the hill from The Droveway by Hove Park.
Bertie was “okay” but the couple, who live in Queen Mary Avenue, Hove, think incidents like this are an “accident waiting to happen” for children and people walking dogs in the park.
They have called for signage in the park indicating for cyclists to slow down to help avoid it from happening again in the future.
Gaynor said: “It happened so quickly, he was trotting along with his ball and the cyclist came so quickly and went right over him.
"I think he tried to slide but Bertie still went right underneath him. He was going about 20 miles per hour.”
Andrew Parry said: “When people go down the hill, there needs to be signage to slow down because it’s quite busy with people walking.
“We don’t want to discourage people cycling absolutely, it’s just being respectful and taking care in the park and observing your surroundings because someone will get hurt.”
Vanessa Brown, Conservative councillor for Hove Park said the path in the park is a “shared path and needs to be signed as such.” She will be addressing it in the next full council meeting.
Cllr Brown said: "It is a cycle route but also an important pathway in a busy park environment used by families, people jogging and walking dogs.
“We would like to see the Council put in place signage at the entrance points and on the surface of the pathway itself to indicate this is a shared space and to encourage caution for the safety of all park users.”
A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said: “The path in Hove Park that links both ends of The Droveway is a National Cycle Route.
“There are already signs in place at the entrance to the park the park alerting people to this.
“We are unable to comment at this stage on what actions we may or may not take following this incident.”
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