'Why do drivers try to run my 8mph scooter off the road and hurl abuse at me?' asks disabled Ashfield man

Norman King, aged 55, says he has been subject to a torrent of abuse from car drivers and was recently almost run off the road by a 4x4 vehicle.

He has told drivers to ‘grow up’ after being regularly sworn at while out on the road.

Mr King, of Victoria Drive, rides his Kymco Maxi XLS scooter to Alfreton just a few times a month and points out that his scooter is completely road legal.

He said: “I’m not in a scooter because I want to be – I have no choice.

“If you don’t know the rules, go get a Highway Code and read it.”

According to the code, mobility scooters and powered wheelchairs with a top speed of eight miles per hour, such as Norman’s, are roadworthy.

Their owners must obey the same rules as other road users.

He said; “The scooter is road legal with lights, indicators and mirrors.

“I use it on the road about once a month to go into Alfreton. I use the highest gear which gives it a top speed of 8mph.

When he rides his scooter in the road, drivers beep their horns and pull out dangerously to get around him.

Foul-mouthed tirades are also common.

“I get people in cars effing and blinding and lorry drivers, shouting that I shouldn’t be on the road.

“I am very wary now, yesterday a black 4x4 was just centimetres from me and pulled right in front of me - I had to stop, if I had carried on I could have hit him.

“I am terrified to go out now- I read about a disabled man being hit by a lorry in Sheffield and being knocked off his scooter.

“If you can’t drive a car and be aware of disabled drivers, get off the road.

“On the main road to Alfreton some of it has no pavements, so I have to use it.”

Norman suffers from blackouts and was given the vehicle after he developed blood clots.

He suffered a stroke in the past which has left him permanently disabled.

He added: “The council took my bus pass off me and so I rarely use public transport.

“I don’t go out a lot. “If I walk from my bedroom to the bathroom I can’t get my breath.

He says his condition has deteriorated since his partner Susanne died at the age of 47 three years ago.

"All I want is to be able to use my scooter safely and for other road users to live and let live.”