A cyclist has posted footage to YouTube showing a motorist threatening him with a baseball bat moments after he nearly knocked him off his bike – with the driver backing down once he realised he was being filmed.
Shot in Avenue Road, St John’s Wood in north west London, the video was uploaded to the site on Friday by YouTube user Amere Rider.
In the film, the cyclist was riding along a cycle lane when the driver overtook him and immediately turned left. It is not clear whether the rider came off his bike, but – unsurprisingly, given the circumstances – he reacted angrily, which the motorist countered with a tirade of his own.
“Oi what the f*ck! You stupid f*ucking idiot!” the rider shouted as he banged on the vehicle, a Volkswagen Polo.
The male driver got out of the car and after rummaging around in the boot confronted the cyclist with a baseball bat, saying, “Are you f*cking mad?”
Asked, “Is that a baseball bat, are you threatening me with a baseball bat?” the motorist replied, “I am threatening you.”
With another cyclist coming to the aid of the rider who was cut up, and other witnesses apparently nearby, the driver starting to calm down as he became aware he was being filmed.
He also insisted he did not knock the cyclist off his bike, saying “I did not hit him over. I am sure I did not hit him over,” but says he will accept “full responsibility” if it is established that he did.
Some of the commenters to the video on YouTube have urged the cyclist to go to the police with the footage.
A spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police, quoted in the London Evening Standard, said: “We are aware of the video that has been uploaded and it has been brought to our attention by the media.
“No further details have been provided to us to ascertain exactly when the incident took place.”