AN ANDOVER cyclist who narrowly escaped death while riding home last month is urging bikers to wear helmets.

Graeme Scott was cycling on Red Rice Road, down the hill from Bury Hill to Upper Clatford on July 22 when he saw a car coming up the hill.

The driver didn’t see him and, “at the last minute” turned right into Clatford Manor, with Graeme riding right into him at 22mph.

The 41-year-old, , of Mead Road, told The Advertiser: “It about 4.20pm, a bright, sunny day. I had been to town and then I did an eight-mile route, and I was on my way home.

“He slowed down and I thought he had seen me, but at the last minute he turned. I hit the windscreen and went over the roof. I hit my head twice, first on the windscreen, and then on the road, but the helmet soaked it all up.

“I had a fitness tracker on so I know the exact speed I hit him at and it was 22mph.”

Recalling the horrifying moment, he continued: “The bike left a nice dent in the top of his roof. I remember lying on my side and thinking, ‘am I ok?’ And that was the first thing the driver said to me too.

“I had blood down my arm and my leg. All the glass was on my back. My neck felt ok so I got up and rang my wife.”

Graeme’s wife, Nicola, took him first to Andover War Memorial Hospital and then to Salisbury District Hospital, but luckily he had no broken bones or permanent damage.

“I have never had an altercation like that on the road before. It’s just so bizarre that I only have a sore toe, ankle and knee. The only bruise I had is already gone,” he said.

Graeme, a pilot who is currently on furlough, said he did make a statement to police, but when asked if he thought an offence had been committed, he said no.

“It was just two people trying to drive defensively and we both got it wrong,” he said.

“He’s a super keen cyclist himself, and he was absolutely mortified that he had hit me. And I do have some blame in it. I was in a black shirt and black helmet, and I was in shade while he was in full sunshine. I have a high-viz jacket, but I just wouldn’t have thought to wear it in conditions like that.”

He continued: “I missed a couple of days of work, but so what? At the end of the day, he has had to deal with the damage to his car and he has bought me a new bike, new lights and a new helmet. If you’re going to hit someone, he couldn’t have been a nicer guy!”

Graeme met with the driver at Just Bikes in Andover, where he replaced his battered bike from Halfords, which he says he bought eight or nine years ago, with a brand-new Ridgeback bike.

Sending a message to other cyclists, Graeme said: “That helmet undoubtedly saved my life.

“I never used to wear one. I used to cycle thousands of miles and it was only when I moved here and my now wife said I ought to, but I’m so glad I did. I don’t think we’d be talking now if I didn’t have it on.”

He is looking forward to getting back on the saddle, adding: “It’s not knocked my confidence, and it won’t stop me cycling. But it’s just made me a lot more defensive - the new cycle helmet is bright yellow!”