Rushden pedestrian left with shock and broken foot after being knocked over by Voi scooter with two riders

Jordan Sclater had gone to vote on Thursday (May 2) and was just returning to his home in Hayway when a Voi scooter carrying two riders smashed into him, sending him flying.

After being hit on his left side, the 25-year-old freelance camera operator was launched through the air, landing back on the pavement on his right foot.

Witnessed by his mum and her partner, with whom he had been waiting to cross the road, they asked the Voi riders why they had been on the pavement.

Jordan said: “I just been voting. As I was waiting to cross the road I heard a ‘bing’ and then I completely knocked to the floor. A Voi scooter knocked me over and I landed back on the pavement. They did stop. My mum’s partner asked them ‘why were you riding on the pavement?’ They said they had rung the bell and wanted to cross the road.

"They hit me on the left side. I did a roll and absorbed most of the impact but I landed on my right foot.”

Because Jordan’s house was nearby he made it home where he applied an ice pack to his foot. Resting his foot for 24-hours, it wasn’t until the Saturday with the pain not improving, he realised his foot may be broken.

An x-ray at Corby’s Urgent Care Centre revealed the fracture.

He said: “At the time I was in shock. Because we live so close we didn’t get any information. I just wanted to get home. We emailed Voi but we haven’t heard anything from them.

“In the grand scheme of things, I’m young. It’s lucky that it happened to me but it could have hit my mum. I’m less annoyed that they hit me. I’m more annoyed that they were stupid.”

Jordan has now been resting his foot and is unable to do his work as a part-time bar man.

Voi e-scooters have been a divisive topic since a trial scheme was launched in Kettering in December 2020.

They aim to provide a greener and cheaper alternative form of transport to help cut congestion and pollution but concerns have been raised about issues including including poor parking on paths, riding on pavements and the policing of drink-driver users.

Two people have died in nearby West Northamptonshire due to incidents involving the scooters and others have suffered injuries, with West Northamptonshire Council set to propose stricter rules on e-scooters.

After a recent incident in Kettering, a Voi spokesperson said: “Riding an e-scooter on the pavement is not allowed and we are very clear on this in our safety messaging to all users. We also provide regular safe riding skills training sessions so that riders are aware of how to ride safely.

“We will take action against anyone found breaking our safe riding rules – including banning them from our service.

"We encourage members of the public to report instances of anti-social or dangerous riding through report.voi.com or email [email protected] including details of time, location and if possible the scooter’s four-digit registration number, so that we can take action against those responsible."