CYCLIST Scott Millar has thanked Wiltshire Air Ambulance and others who treated him after his bike hit a car on Saturday and he suffered three fractured vertebrae.

Now, just days after leaving hospital, Mr Millar says he hopes to run the London Marathon next year in aid of the charity.

Mr Millar, 32, was heading to the finish of the Tour of Wessex sportive ride at Somerton in Somerset at about 2.15pm on Saturday on the B3092 near Mere, in west Wiltshire, when a car pulled out from a side road.

He said: “I braked and shouted at the driver, who I could see had her window down, but I went over the bonnet and landed in a pile in the road.”

Another rider taking part in the event narrowly avoided Mr Millar, an engineer for a production company who lives in Hackney Wick, east London, and the group of London Fields Triathlon Club members he was with pulled up soon afterwards.

“Luckily there was a nurse taking part in the ride and she stopped as well,” said Mr Millar.

“I could feel my legs so it was clear I hadn’t suffered a spinal injury, although my pelvis was very sore, so my friends carried me off the road.”

A phone call was made from a nearby house as there was no mobile signal and a paramedic in a rapid response car was soon on the scene.

He said: “It has been a stunning day up until that point. The weather was perfect and we’d ridden up Cheddar Gorge and then tackled a 25 per cent climb.

“I was about about 120km into a 174km cycle on what should have been the first of three days of the Tour of Wessex. We’d all travelled down by train on Friday to take part.”

Mr Millar, who is 6ft 3ins tall, said: “I joked that they’d need something bigger than the response car and the next thing I knew there was someone from the air ambulance there.”

After having nitrogen oxide and morphine administered Mr Millar was flown to Southmead Hospital.

He said: “It was my first flight in a helicopter which wasn’t quite the way I’d want it to be. It was quite a tight squeeze to get in!

“The crew were all very good and the staff at Southmead were fantastic too. It could have all been a lot worse.”

Mr Millar was out of hospital on Sunday and hope to be back on his bike in six to eight weeks after being told he shouldn’t suffer any long-term consequences.

“I was planning to run the London Marathon next year and now I’m going to raise some money for these guys (Wiltshire Air Ambulance) - I couldn’t believe that it is all paid for by fundraising,” he said.

Mr Millar said he will have his £1,800 bike checked over to make sure it’s safe before he rides again.

Wiltshire Air Ambulance, in response to a tweeted thanks from Mr Millar, said: "Our pleasure, glad to hear you're out of hospital, come and see us soon!"

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