A serious cross country runner hoping to be selected for England had her face smashed up after being crashed into by three young cyclists.

Nicola Rogers, 27, was out running in Coggeshall Road, Braintree, last night when three boys on bikes crashed into her on the pavement, knocking her down.

The Braintree childminder who runs for a Colchester club, said the accident was a “big setback” in her training, which she does twice daily.

* for full story see tomorrow's paper