A cyclist was badly injured in a hit-and-run in Lancashire last month. 50-year-old Alan Cookson was cycling to a football match when a car hit him from behind, leaving him with a fractured elbow and several stitches to his head.

Mr Cookson went over the handlebars and somersaulted as he was thrown through the air and onto the road. He was rushed to hospital, where doctors checked him for evidence of more serious injuries. Mr Cookson was unable to return to work as an engineer for BAE Systems during his recovery.

“The police officer said he had just left me to die,” said Mr Cookson of the man who ran into his bike, and subsequently drove off (Lancashire Evening Post, 2009). Mr Cookson remembers nothing of the accident until he was taken by ambulance to hospital.

Lancashire police attended the scene.