Motorbike yobs laugh at crying girl, 9, after cycle attack on Union Canal path

William Paris and his daughter,Libby Paris,9. Pic: Lisa Ferguson

William Paris suffered a broken arm and fractured wrist among a host of other injuries as he attempted to shield daughter Libby after the yobs roared down the path towards them during a Sunday afternoon cycle near Ratho Park Golf Club.

IT Consultant William told how a kind-hearted stranger who stopped to help him back to his feet after witnessing the assault revealed it was the latest in a string of incidents caused by motorbikes on the path.

But the 44-year-old said he was “disgusted” to see the loutish pair “openly mock” the distressed schoolgirl, revealing it hurt more than any physical injury.

William and Libby – who only learned to ride a bike three weeks ago – were returning from the 16-mile round trip to the Bridge Inn in Ratho from Edinburgh Quay at the time of the incident.

He said the teenagers came “screeching” down the narrow path, forcing him to take evasive action to protect his daughter.

William added: “Libby was absolutely screaming and the boys were just laughing at her, it was disgusting.”

“These boys must have been going 30-40 miles per hour and I had no time to react, I basically had to choose between getting out of the way and protecting my daughter, but as I wheeled my bike out to get in front of Libby, he deliberately fishtailed his motorcycle and sent me down the embankment.”

“I went right over the handlebars, head over heels and crashed right into a tree. I knew I was hurt”.

A passer-by helped William up and ensured he was able to drive to A&E, where doctors confirmed he had broken his ulna, as well as suffering serious bruising to his ribs.

The man had explained the bikes were a constant menace on the path and were previously reported to police.

But William said the episode had left Libby “extremely upset,”adding: “I have been cycling most of my life, so with Libby just learning in the past few weeks, I was very keen to teach her about the rules of the road, respecting pedestrians as we go along and for something like this to happen, it was just awful.”

“I’m now having to reassure her that the rest of the cycle was great and that one incident shouldn’t spoil it, but you can see how much it upset her.”

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said they were investigating the incident and encouraged anyone with any information to come forward.

She added: “Police Scotland received a report that a man sustained a serious injury to his arm after falling off his pedal cycle when avoiding two motorbikes on the Union Canal Path near Ratho at around 1.30pm on May 5.

“Anyone who may have relevant information can contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 1235 of May 6.”