A 48-year-old High Court clerk who was knocked off his bicycle by a vehicle in a hit and run incident in Rayne says he is “lucky to be alive”.

John Barker, of The Street, Hatfield Peverel, remembers nothing of the accident on Wednesday, August 19, that saw him lose part of his left ear and fracture a bone in his lower back.

Mr Barker, who was on holiday from work, was cycling along School Road towards Felsted at around 12.30pm on the return loop of his regular mountain bike ride when a vehicle made contact with his rear wheel.

The vehicle did not stop at the scene and Mr Barker was later found in the middle of the road by two male passers-by, who immediately called an ambulance.

He said: “I feel lucky to still be here, I realise it could have been a lot worse, but I just don’t remember a thing. One minute I was happily cycling along, the next I was being woken up by the two men.

“It was lucky that they found me when they did as I could have quite easily been run over by another car while I was lying in the middle of the road.

“I wasn’t wearing a helmet but then I never have, and I’ve never had a problem in 40 years.”

Mr Barker was taken to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, where he also volunteers as a hospital radio DJ, to receive treatment for his injuries and was released on Tuesday (August 25).

He said: “My recovery is likely to be eight to ten weeks with my back. I will also have the choice to have reconstructive surgery on my ear in a few months, but I’m quite positive about it. All the nurses and staff have been brilliant.”

Mr Barker, who works at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, said he was trying to understand why the person did not stop.

He said: “I don’t feel angry or bitter about it, I just want some honesty and the person to own up to what they did.

“I looked so bad that I suppose the person may have thought they had killed me, which is one reason why they might not have stopped.”

Anybody who witnessed the collision is asked to contact Essex Police on 101 quoting incident 413 of August 19 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.