"I WILL leave it to the conscience of whoever was responsible – but they could have cost me my life."
That was the reaction of former Royal Navy radar controller Vic Smith, 83, as he recovered in hospital from the injuries he sustained after he was apparently forced off the road and into a deep water-filled ditch on his mobility scooter.
He thanked rescuers for saving his life and the emergency services for the treatment he received.
Vic, a former Immingham and Cleethorpes Borough Councillor and a veteran of the Suez War, was taken to hospital after the incident at the car boot sale near Pennells – which attracts hundreds of visitors – on Bank Holiday Monday.
Vic, of Cleethorpes, broke his breastbone in the plunge into the six-foot deep water-filled dyke.
Sitting up in his hospital bed, he told how visitors to the sale were struggling to get access in the early morning on to the site.
He was riding his mobility scooter which he uses due to chronic arthritis.
He said: "There was a heck of a traffic jam and I was behind a woman with a push chair with a couple of kids.
"I was being careful not to get too near them. But without any warning this car went past me and knocked me into the dyke. I landed with the scooter on top of me."
He estimated its weight to be the same as a 250cc motorcycle.
Vic said: "I would not know what would have happened to me if it had not been for two or three women who came down to haul the scooter off me. It had me pinned down and most of my head was under the water.
"I want to send my sincere thanks to the women who rescued me and to the fire brigade and ambulance crews who came.
"I will leave it to the conscience of the person in the car. It could have cost me my life."
Vic said he regularly attended car boot sales to see if he can find more hip flasks for his collection of more than 20.
He joked: "What do you expect from an old Navy veteran?"
He served on HMS Ganges and on HMS Duke of York as well as destroyers.
The former Strand Street schoolboy was a keen angler and, in retirement, founded fishing group Pescatorial Codgers.
Vic said he had fallen in ponds on a couple of occasions while fishing. He said: "I never felt as scared as I was when I was under my scooter in that ditch. It was panic stations. I am still getting the mud out of my nostrils now."
The father of four said he is looking forward to getting back home to his wife Irene.
Witnesses to the accident told how they saw a female motorist "force" him closer and closer to the edge before he fell, with the scooter landing on top of him.
His daughter Debbie said the motorist had opened the window, said "sorry" and drove off without offering any help.
She said: "It was a real shock, for my dad and also for my son who is in the fire service.
Rightcare Mobility, of Grimsby Road, Cleethorpes, have offered to take Vic's scooter away to carry out any repairs needed, at no charge.
Sales engineer Trev Crampton said: "I'm a former serviceman myself and seeing something like this happen is not very nice.
"The scooter wasn't bought from us but as a local firm we wanted to try to help if we could."
Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to call Humberside Police on 101 or alternatively they can contact Vic's daughter Debbie on 07907 120390.
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