A man left with broken bones in a hit-and-run turned private detective after police told him the case was closed because he did not get the perpetrator’s registration number.

Tanser Ozdemir, 27, from Epsom, was knocked down by a car in the early hours of Sunday, November 2, and left with a broken leg, wrist, hand and severe bruising along his side.Wimbledon Times:

Bruising down Mr Ozdemir's side

The restaurant manager had just finished work at Ambience, in Wimbledon, and popped to Tooting High Street to grab some food. He was getting back in his car, near Cashino, when he was smashed in his side by a silver Toyota Prius that sped off. He was taken to St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, where his right leg was put in a cast.

Mr Ozdemir was angry when police told him the case had been dropped because CCTV cameras did not capture the incident.

He did his own investigation and got CCTV from a nearby private camera which showed the moment the car slammed into him and drove off.

He said: "I have been trying to contact the police and spoke to the case officer [last Wednesday] who said ‘haven’t you heard? The case has closed we decided to close the case because the camera didn’t capture the incident’.

"I’m fuming because of the police. They have gone from opening the case to closing it without once coming round to see me. They haven’t event called me. It’s just an insult.

"She said ‘you have a scratched knee’. I’ve got CCTV from a camera and they told me to hold on to it and they would be in touch.

"I’m intrigued to know what happened if I had died. I’m not even annoyed at the guy who did it. I’m annoyed at the police. I’m in a cast, my leg is fractured and my back is bruised and they have let the guy get away with it.

"Right now I’m having difficult nights thinking about it. I’m so disappointed and let down that they can do that."

This week a report revealed that one in five of all crimes reported to the police are not being recorded by officers.

Watchdog HM Inspectorate of Constabulary looked at more than 8,000 crime reports in England and Wales - describing the failure as "indefensible".

When we contacted the Metropolitan Police Service a spokesman said the case was still open but he admitted that without a registration number there was little they could do.

An appeal has now been launched to find the driver of the silver Toyota Prius and the spokesman said: "A 27-year-old man was just getting into a Black Audi when the passing Prius struck him and left him lying injured in the road. The victim has been receiving medical treatment for the injuries.

"The Prius carried on leaving a broken near-side wing mirror behind. The traffic unit are very keen to track down witnesses who saw the collision, or who may be able to help police identify the driver of the Prius."

Anyone with information should call the Met prosecutions team during office hours on 020 7230 3882, quoting ref 5502304/14.