Marshal’s lucky escape at cycle event

THIS was the moment when Tour de Yorkshire volunteer Philip Sullivan avoided being ploughed into by a car.

The 35-year-old said he had been “extremely lucky” not to have been killed. He said time “seemed to freeze” and the reality of the near-miss experience had not fully sunk in yet.

He told how he got into position near the race finish line at Armley in Leeds, to warn cyclists away from the central reservation in the middle of the road. The bank complaints handler, who lives in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, said: “I saw groups of cyclists coming through and then a few cars. Then I saw one coming down the middle of the road straight at me. I was thinking ‘he’s gonna move, he’s gonna move’; and no word of a lie, my life flashed before my eyes.

“It was the strangest thing. Time seemed to freeze and slow down – like it was all in slow motion. I didn’t really think about it - I saw the car coming and just jumped to the right on to the pavement. As soon as I’d jumped I heard a massive bang behind me a felt the woosh of the car.”

The video footage of the extraordinary escape shows how another car follows straight behind the crashing vehicle – also missing Mr Sullivan by seconds.