A 19-year-old cyclist was left battered and bruised after being knocked off her bicycle on her way to work.

Hairdresser Robyn Gargan was cycling from her home in Patcham into Brighton along the A23 London Road when she was involved in a collision with a taxi.

She said the taxi was driving north up the A23 on the morning of May 2 and turned across her path into Harrington Road.

She was thrown from her bike after hitting the taxi.

A passer-by ran to help her.

Ms Gargan said: “I was so lucky. My bike took most of the damage. “I had no broken bones but I am covered in bruises and I have swollen ankles and knees.

“I also have constant headaches and back pain. “I was not even aware what had happened until I spoke to the woman who came over and helped me.

She said the taxi did not stop. “He must have known what hap- pened. He knocked a 19-year-old girl off her bike yet he just drove off. I am not happy knowing he is still out there. Of all people, you would expect a taxi driver to stop – I could have been dead.”

Ms Gargan kept in touch with the pedestrian who helped her. She later visited the woman and gave he a bouquet of flowers to say thank you.

She said: “When I went round to see her she could not believe I was standing.”

A police spokesman said: “A cyclist suffered slight injuries after being involved in a collision with a taxi.

“The collision happened in London Road in Brighton at the junction with Harrington Road at 8.15am on Friday, May 2.

“A 19-year-old woman from Brighton, who was riding the bike, was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital with a graze to her leg.”

He added a driver was due to be interviewed by police last night and has not been arrested.