FAMILIES are calling for their ‘minefield’ road to be fixed after a cyclist was airlifted to hospital following a crash.
The man, who is in his 40s, broke his cheekbone and suffered cuts and bruises after coming off his bike in Berwick Lane, Stanford Rivers, on Saturday afternoon.
Paul Rocks, 43, of Berwick Lane, said: “My brother-in-law was in the kitchen and saw what happened and we ran out straight away.
“The chap was in a really bad way and we thought he was going to die. He was unconscious and he was just gasping for breath.
“We called an ambulance and they said not to touch him, so we put something under his head and made sure his airway wasn’t blocked.
“We were there for 10 minutes and an ambulance and helicopter arrived.
“It’s a quiet road and if my brother-in-law hadn’t been in the kitchen, that guy would have been lying in the road on a dangerous bend.
“One of our neighbours warned earlier this year that someone was going to get hurt.
“What really needs to happen is the road needs to be repaired.”
Stephen Rose, 65, who lives opposite where the man fell, said: “My neighbour across the road said ‘there’s been a terrible accident – can the helicopter land in your field?’
“I said yes and walked across, but there was not a lot we could do – there was a paramedic crew.”
Mr Rose has been campaigning for the road to be repaired and believes a pothole caused the cyclist to lose control and crash.
“At this particular spot, the heavy combine harvesters squash the road,” he said. “The poor chap came hurtling down the road, coming from the north and going towards the south.
“You can’t see, if you’re a cyclist, that the road suddenly drops away.
“The camber is so great that you can’t control the bike.”
Mr Rocks said the man was the third cyclist to come off his bike outside his house in as many months.
“The consequences of the latest accident have been much worse than any other,” he said.
“Part of the road has collapsed on one side and it appears the camber in the road at this section took the cyclist towards the ditch.
“He tried to correct this and went over the handlebars.”
The road was compared with a ‘minefield’ earlier in the year because it had so many potholes.
It was patched up by Essex County Council after the Guardian ran a story, but residents say it needs more work.
Mr Rose said: “We’re hoping the council will act upon it. What they need to do is come down and re-do the road.
“They need to build the road up again.”
A county council spokesman said: “Essex County Council will be conducting an immediate inspection of the area and will take forward any action that may be required.
“We hope the individual involved in the accident makes a full recovery.”
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