A cyclist in his 60s suffered a cut to his chin when he was pushed from his bike by a passenger hanging out the side of a van.

The shocking episode happened on Sunday afternoon in the leafy village of Frittenden.

Iain Morris said his partner Denise was driving when she witnessed the terrifying ordeal in Water Lane at around 2pm.

The 46-year-old said: "My other half was on her way to the stable yard to see her horse and go riding.

"As she was looking to turn left into the driveway she noticed a cyclist and behind him was a white van.

"She didn't think much of it but she looked in her rear view mirror and the guy was sticking out of the passenger side of the van.

"She realised they were going to push the cyclist and they shoved him into the ditch."

The van used in the bizarre attack was a white Volkswagen Transporter with a roof rack.

Mr Morris, who lives in Sutton Valence, took to Facebook to alert other cyclists and help catch the culprits behind the sickening incident.

He said: "He was very shaken up and my other half helped him out of the ditch and he was bleeding from his chin.

"What those people in the van did was very reckless and it could have injured that gentleman.

"You see something like this and it is terribly funny for the occupants of the vehicle but it can have a long-term effect on someone.

"Fortunately this man picked himself up but who's to say the injury couldn't come out in the next 24 hours?"

Similar separate incidents between Stilebridge Lane and Marden, as well as Pattenden Lane, have also been reported to have happened.