Kentish Express Ashford & District
Editor hit with scaffold pole in freak bike crash
‘The first I knew was waking up in hospital - it was lucky I’d been wearing a cycling helmet’
The editor of the Kentish Express was seriously injured while out cycling after a scaffolder carrying a pole stepped out into the road in front of him.
Robert Barman was riding in Wye with a group of friends from Canterbury Bicycle Club on Saturday when the accident happened at about 10.15am.
According to his friends Mr Barman was riding at about 10 miles per hour in Bridge Street in the centre of the village when he went head-first into the pole.
It struck him on the face, which knocked him off his bike and left him dazed and in shock. He hit the ground with such force that his cycle helmet was broken.
Police, paramedics and the air ambulance were called as Mr Barman drifted in and out of consciousness.
Air ambulance paramedics helped to treat him at the scene, before he was taken by road ambulance to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, where he needed stitches to his chin and forehead and was treated for a black eye and cuts to his face.
He said: “The first I knew of it was when I woke up in the hospital, it’s the first time I’ve ever had a bad accident while out on my bike.
“This week I’m still feeling slightly groggy but I’m trying to get back to normal. I think it shows the importance of wearing a helmet, because it could have been much worse.”
Mr Barman, 47, has been a member of Canterbury Bicycle Club for about two years and had been out on a 50-mile ride from the city centre. The group had passed through Hastingleigh and were approaching the Wye level crossing when the accident happened, and the ride was then abandoned.
On Sunday Mr Barman was back in action, working from home while on editor’s duty for Kent Online, but he said that thankfully it was a fairly quiet day. He added: “It was a bit of a blur because I woke up and realised I was on duty. So I thought I would manage with what was there.
“I’m not sure when I’ll be back on the bike, I don’t want to push my luck.”
Health and Safety Executive spokesman Jack Rimmer said the crash has been referred to the authority and initial inquiries are being made.