Police are appealing for information after a 13-year-old girl was knocked off her bike by a motorist who drove off leaving her bleeding on the roadside.

The incident happened just after 2pm on Sunday on the Abbotsley Road as the girl, from Eynesbury Manor in St Neots, was cycling to Abbotsley.

A black Mazda car knocked her off the bike with such force that the vehicle’s left-hand wing mirror sheared off and shattered.

She suffered lacerations, which required stitching, to her arms and legs and was treated at Hinchingbrooke Hospital for her injuries.

The girl’s father, Andrew Starkey, aged 49, received a call from his daughter at 2.20pm and drove to the scene to find her in a distressed state and covered in blood.

He told The Hunts Post: “We all do stupid things sometimes, but this driver knew he had hit her because the wing mirror smashed into pieces. It seems unbelievable that someone could do this and then just drive off leaving a vulnerable young girl injured on the roadside. For all the driver knew she could have hit her head and been unconscious. It shows a total lack of morality.”

The girl, who was wearing a helmet, has told police there were no vehicles on the other side of the road and she felt the car, which she describes as family-sized black car with a roof box, was too close to her. The wing mirror had a Mazda identification mark stamped on it.

“I believe the driver is local as this road is fairly remote and there must be someone out there who knows who this car belongs to as it now has a wing mirror missing. My daughter had borrowed her brother’s bike, which was hit so hard that it is damaged beyond repair.”

A police spokesman said: “We would appeal to anyone who witnessed the collision or who knows who the driver of the black car, which is now missing a wing mirror, is to contact us. We would also appeal to the driver to do the right thing and come forward.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.