Man seriously injured in hit-and-run is urging faster rollout of cycle lanes
Video report by ITV News Meridian's John Ryall
A cyclist who was left seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver in Brighton is calling on the city council to urgently speed up the rollout of cycle lanes.
The crash left Gary Alexander with broken bones in both arms and one leg.
Doctors have told Gary it will be 18 months before he recovers from the crash, which happened as he cycled in traffic on Brighton seafront because no cycle lane was available.
Gary says: "The next thing I know this black car side-swiped me and I was sprawled in the road.
"I had a broken right heel. When I looked at my arms, I noticed the right arm was a bizarre shape and the left arm had a step in it; and I remember seeing some blood on the road."
The 54-year-old teacher says Brighton and Hove City Council is promoting cycling and discouraging motorists while failing to provide a safe cycle lane network.
Gary is the latest in a series of cyclists to be hurt in traffic, and in cycle lanes that merge with traffic.
On Tuesday, Friends of the Earth attacked the city council's cycle lane rollout as 'glacially slow'.
Chris Todd said: "The government has pushed local authorities to put in temporary schemes, and they are great for trying out things, but actually places like the seafront here actually need a permanent solution. The temporary measures do not deliver the full benefits."
In a statement, BHCC says cycle lanes provided in the last year have been 'in accordance with government guidelines'.
It says the incident in which Gary Alexander was injured happened close to a cycle lane that was being resurfaced.
It added it would 'be wrong to comment further' because the incident is under police investigation.
Gary hopes CCTV will identify the hit-and-run driver who left him injured in the road, and that his ordeal will push the city council's cycle lane programme into a faster gear.