One-legged man mowed down pedestrian in mobility scooter ‘hit and run’ exterior nightclub

A one-legged man is facing jail after being found guilty of running over a pedestrian with his mobility scooter.

Alan Briscoe, 62, left his victim with a broken arm after mowing him down outside a nightclub in Shrewsbury, Shrops., at 10.20pm on August 1, 2022.

Witnesses described him as “going quite fast” down the road before hearing a “big bang” as he collided with Robert Taylor who had been crossing the street.

Mr Taylor was left with a broken arm which “protruded through the skin” and later died, although prosecutors said his death was not connected to the incident.

Briscoe went on trial accused of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

Yesterday (Wed) he was found guilty by a jury following an hour of deliberations and he will be sentenced at the same court on February 7 next year.

During the trial, the court was shown CCTV footage which showed a mobility scooter colliding with the victim on Abbey Foregate.

It captured Mr Taylor hitting the ground before getting up, holding onto his arm, and stumbling away.

Rosemary Proctor, prosecuting, said: “The prosecution say he (Briscoe) didn’t stop, slow down or take evasive action.

“If he had time to sound his horn, you may think, he had time to stop, slow down or take evasive action. But he didn’t do any of those things, did he?

“You may think he expected Mr Taylor to get out of the way.”

Mr Taylor said in a statement before he died: “I went to cross the road outside Abbey Hardware just before the fork in the road. It was clear to cross.

“As I got halfway across the road I was hit by a scooter. The vehicle knocked me to the ground, then sped off in the direction of Whitehall Street. I struggled to get to my feet. That’s when I realised my arm was broken.”

Witness Christopher Lee, who had recently returned to the UK after working as a combat medic in Ukraine, gave evidence during the trial.

He told the court he had pulled up next to a takeaway in his car so his partner could get food when he felt “a gust of wind” as a vehicle went past his right hand side.

He said: “Something nearly hit the wing mirror of my car.”

He described seconds later hearing a horn and seeing the scooter “go through” a pedestrian.

He said immediately after the collision he shouted to his partner that he was going to see if he could help, and found Mr Taylor being looked after by staff at Havana.

He added: “I said ‘I’m a medic, do you need any help?’ And they were happy for me to help.

“I saw he had some blood on his shirt. He had an open fracture which looked like it had protruded through the skin and then retracted.”

Mr Lee described there being a hole in Mr Taylor’s arm the size of a 5p or 10p piece, caused by the fracture.

Another witness, Claire Doster, who was working at Havana at the time and was by the front door, described hearing a “big bang”. She said: “There was a mobility scooter coming down the road. The scooter was going quite fast down the road towards Havana.

“It hit a male who was crossing. It carried on going. It didn’t stop. We got the guy off the floor and put him in a chair.”

Deborah Holloway, a reveller who was outside the club chatting to Ms Doster at the time of the incident, said: “I heard a horn sound and a man scream. I saw the mobility scooter hit the man.

“The man was screaming. His arm was broken. I went to him.”

Briscoe, who uses a prosthetic leg to walk, chose not to take to the witness box and give evidence during the trial. In voluntary police interview under caution given a few weeks after the incident, he said he thought he did not hit anyone at the time.

He said: “I’m sorry I have hit him. I didn’t feel any jolt to the buggy. I didn’t know there was an incident.”

Justin Hugheston Roberts, defending, said: “When he spoke to the police, he told them everything. There wasn’t a great deal else to say.”

Briscoe, of Monkmoor, Shrewsbury, was granted unconditional bail ahead of his sentencing.