Footage from 34-year-old Klaudia Mitura’s bicycle shows her cycling along the Ashton Canal in Greater Manchester on 19 July when she saw a couple walking their dog. The mother-of-two, who works as a machine operator, slowed down and applied her brakes as one of the pair shouted for her to “slow down.” Klaudia pointed out that they had a dog, and the man replied, “Yeah but you’re on a fking bike,” before calling her a “fking idiot.” The video then appears to show the man pushing her into the canal. The cyclist mentioned that she cannot swim and was still clipped into her bike pedals at the time.
Klaudia Mitura’s Account
Klaudia said she feared she would drown and initially struggled to get free from her bike. She eventually found a tall rock to stand on and keep her head above the water. A passer-by noticed her in distress and helped her out of the canal before assisting her in contacting the police, as her phone had been damaged. Klaudia said the couple did not look back to see if she was safe. “When he passed me, he just pushed me in the water. They were gone, and didn’t turn their heads to see if I’m alive or not,” she said. “I was very scared because I can’t swim, I thought I would drown. I don’t know what I would do if no one had walked past me. He refused to move out of the way, I didn’t do anything, I just wanted to pass him and go my way.”
The Dog Walker’s Account
The man involved, from Dukinfield, has since come forward and denied pushing Klaudia. He said he was walking with his girlfriend, who is 26 weeks pregnant, when Klaudia approached at what he described as “a ridiculous speed.” “I thought she was going to hit my missus and my dog. I thought my family was in danger. She’s carried on to ride towards me. Then she’s clipped me with the handlebars and she’s gone into the canal. I didn’t push her,” he told the Manchester Evening News. He also denied abandoning her, saying, “After it happened, I turned around. I said to her ‘are you okay?’ She told me to ‘f**k off’. She was stood up. She wasn’t stood on a rock. The canal was waist high. She was totally in the wrong. I’m just a normal working guy like anybody else but at the moment I’m just being slandered.”
Aftermath and Personal Impact
Klaudia said she took two days off work following the incident and has avoided cycling along the canal since. “I’m scared of walking or cycling down there,” she said. “It’s good I had the camera because the police can find him. I haven’t cycled since Tuesday, I don’t know when I will do it again. I need help with my mental health. I’m on my own with that, I’m traumatised. Cycling was my main means of transport. I’m physically OK but mentally it’s really bad. I need to be strong because I have two kids so I can’t show them that something is wrong with me.”
Police Investigation and Public Reaction
Greater Manchester Police have confirmed the incident is under investigation and that no arrests have been made. “This is an open investigation, no arrests have been made so far but enquiries are ongoing,” a spokesperson said. The video Klaudia shared on TikTok has been viewed more than 600,000 times. It has prompted strong public reaction and discussions online about safe behaviour on narrow shared paths. Both accounts are being reviewed as part of the ongoing investigation.
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