Electric cars are “silent killers” a visually-impaired woman has said after she was narrowly saved by pedestrian from being hit by one of the vehicles.

Debra Roffey, 52, just missed the near-silent car after her five-year-old guide dog Crystal failed to recognise it coming down the seafront at Paignton, Devon.

Following the incident, the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)  called for electric vehicles to be retro-fitted with new sound warning devices.

Mrs Roffey, from Lamerton, in Tavistock, Devon, said: “Electric cars are silent killers. A passer-by grabbed me, pulling me and Crystal out of the way of one.

“There was no warning. There was no noise and no fumes from an exhaust, so Crystal didn’t pick up on the fact there was a car behind us on the seafront pathway. We could have been seriously injured or worse.”

Mrs Roffey, who is married to Philip, 68, has optical atrophy, which has left her with ten percent vision in her left eye and her right eye completely blind.

Read more: yahoo