Motorist who tweeted '#Bloodycyclists' says message was 'worst mistake of my life'

A motorist who tweeted about '#Bloodycyclists' after knocking a rider off his bike says the Twitter boast was 'the biggest mistake of my life'.

Emma Way posted the online message after knocking cyclist Toby Hockley off his bike on Sunday, raging that the biker 'doesn't even pay road tax'.

After Toby, 29, was flung into a hedge having been struck by a car, Emma's Twitter outburst went viral.

Her message read: 'Definitely knocked a cyclist off his bike earlier. I have right of way - he doesn't even pay road tax! #Bloodycyclists'.

It was retweeted several hundred times and led to what a tearful Miss Way described as the public 'judging me on one man's side of the story'.

The trainee accountant, 21, who disputes Mr Hockley's version of events- told how the stupid comments were said on 'spur of the moment'.

Miss Way said: 'If I have known it would get this far I would never have sent the tweet to be honest.

'If I could take the tweet back I would but I can't. There is definitely a lesson to be learnt here but everyone knows what social media is like.

'I would never have written it if I thought it would get as far as it has now.'

Miss Way now faces potential charges of failing to stop at the scene of the accident, driving with due care and attention and failing to report an accident to the police.

She has also been suspended by her employers.

She added: 'I do not have a negative attitude towards cyclists, I cycle myself. The tweet was just a tweet.

'Everyone makes mistakes and it's the biggest mistake of my life.'

Mr Hockley initially planned to keep the incident to himself but then changed his mind and called officers after he spotted a tweet from the driver.

'I think she came across as a very silly girl and made herself look like a bit of a fool.

'I'm not angry, I would just like it known that her stupid comment that I don't pay road tax is not an excuse to treat cyclists like second-class citizens.'

He forwarded the message to police who are now investigating the matter.

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He added: 'She hit me hard, really hard. I am lucky to be alive. But I managed to get out of the hedge and stand up.

'The car was nowhere to be seen. She hit me and she was gone. All I know is that it was a blonde girl driving.'

The freelance chef said he felt battered and bruised but was able to finish the course after a few roadside fixes to his bike.

'I burst out laughing, I couldn't believe how lucky I was and that I was still in one piece,' he said.

'I had a hug with my co-rider at the side of the road and was just full of adrenaline.

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'But when I finished, the aches and pains set in and I had a bit of sulk in the cafe and had an ice-cream.'

Miss Way, also from Norwich, has now removed the Twitter account and Norfolk Police said it had spoken to both parties.