Rider saved by cycling helmet

He said the bike just “slipped from under him” and added: “He hit his head on the road and the kerb. You should have seen the state of the helmet. The helmet saved his life.”

Ashley said his previous training as a lifeguard kicked in and he kept chatting to the cyclist.

“At first they were talking about getting the air ambulance out because he was struggling to breathe but they quickly got him stabilised,” he said.

The cyclist was treated on the scene for over an hour before being taken to hospital by road ambulance.

Mirfield Tory councillor Vivien Lees-Hamilton, a driving instructor who lives nearby and drives along the road several times a day, said her thoughts were with the cyclist and she hoped he wasn’t too seriously injured.

She said she had previously had concerns over vans parking at the Hamond Projects site where three new houses are being built. Work has been on-going for several months.

Clr Lees-Hamilton said she had raised her concerns with Kirklees Council and the police.

Mr Ralph Pickering, a spokesman for Hamond Projects, said the accident happened some distance from the firm’s site and that there was only one van parked outside. A second arrived shortly afterwards.

He said he had spoken to the police and they had told him the cyclist had hit a pothole.

He said no-one from Kirklees Council or any local councillor had spoken to him over the parking issue.

Mr Aymen Jawad, who runs Hamond Projects, said the accident happened 40 metres from the site and was not connected to what happened.

He said he would be happy to speak to anyone about issues with parked vehicles.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said the force only had “limited involvement” as the cyclist had come off his bike and the incident wasn’t classed as a road traffic collision.

She couldn’t confirm that the cyclist hit a pothole, or how the accident happened, as no official statements had been taken.

There was no on-going investigation.