A drunk cyclist who seriously injured a pedestrian after crashing into her "at great speed" on a footpath has been jailed under an obscure Victorian law.

Lisa Wade, 46, pleaded guilty to causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving, an offence that comes under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

It was created to address the dangers posed by the increasing use of horse-drawn carriages in the mid-19th century.

York Crown Court heard she came “flying” around a blind corner on her bicycle with no brakes and knocked over Ruth Kitching, 65, causing catastrophic injuries.

Wade, of York, was riding one-handed on the pavement and holding a large bag of dog food in her other hand, the court was told.

Prosecutor Laura McBride said Mrs Kitching was standing on a footpath when Wade “flew” around the corner at a “furious” speed and knocked her to the ground. 

Mrs Kitching suffered 'catastrophic' hip injuries and was laid out on the road during an agonising two-hour wait for an ambulance on March 24 last year.

She was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary where she underwent “extensive” surgery to replace her hip and wasn’t discharged from hospital until April. 

When she was finally discharged, she had to rely on crutches until the middle of May, the court heard.

Her injuries had had a life-changing and “traumatic” effect on her life, family and career, it was said.

Ms McBride said a police officer at the scene noticed there was “no braking mechanism” on Wade’s bicycle.  

Wade was “pacing about” and “smelled of alcohol” but remained at the scene, she added.

Ms McBride said Wade was “clearly impaired” by drink and had a long-standing drug and alcohol habit.  

In a victim statement read out by the prosecution, Mrs Kitching said she was initially housebound, had to rely on friends and family and felt “considerable social isolation”.   

She said: “This accident has made me helpless. I hope one day to be back to full fitness, but I think, with my age against me, this might not be the case.” 

Defence barrister Nicholas Hammond said that Wade’s actions were “reckless in the extreme” but she was “genuinely remorseful”. 

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Wade, whose criminal record includes 137 previous offences, was jailed for eight months.

Recorder Taryn Turner told her: “You shouldn’t have been on the pavement and your bike should have been mechanically sound, but it wasn’t. 

“I’m quite satisfied you made a deliberate decision to ignore the rules of the road and had a total disregard for the risk that your riding of this bike presented (to others), which was obviously highly dangerous.”