'I'm lucky to be alive after motorcycle accident'

John Websdale was hit by a car on his way to work in June

A motorcyclist from Leeds who was injured when a driver crashed into him has said he is lucky to be alive.

More than 2,500 people were killed or seriously injured on the roads in North, South and West Yorkshire last year, according to road safety charity Brake.

John Websdale, 59, is urging other drivers to take their time and be considerate on the roads after he was knocked off his motorbike by a car driver on 3 June.

He said: "I had two fractures on my right leg and a fracture of the ankle. I had a fracture of my left knee, wrist fracture, from just below my knee to my ankle was an open wound."

Mr Websdale, from Alwoodley, was travelling to work along Brown Lane West in Holbeck when a motorist travelling in the opposite direction turned right across the road, hitting him.

He was thrown from his Honda CB125 bike and passers-by, including colleagues from his nearby workplace, came to help.

Mr Websdale spent more than two weeks in Leeds General Infirmary and underwent several operations to repair his fractures as well as skin grafts.

The driver of the car was fined £680 and banned from driving for 12 months. They pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by careless driving.

The accident disrupted life for all of John's family, including children Megan and Oliver, and wife Paula

Mr Websdale said he was lucky to still be alive.

"It wasn't intentional. If we're not paying attention it could be any of us. Nobody wants to be on the end of a phone call that says 'there's been a serious accident', I'm lucky that I'm still alive," he said.

Mr Websdale's son Oliver, 27, said the family were "very proud" of how well his father had progressed in his recovery.

He said: "It was awful seeing him all drugged up and completely out of it and then I was there and held his hand when they straightened his leg, and I will never forget how much he screamed.

"It's good seeing him getting through it. He's progressed a lot quicker than they thought he would in the hospital, walking quicker, getting back to work sooner than they thought."

For Road Safety Week, Mr Websdale and his family are raising awareness of dangerous driving.

Brake campaigns manager Luca Straker said speed was a "major factor" in most collisions.

He said: "Five people are killed everyday on UK roads and a further 80 suffer from serious, life-changing injuries and behind every one of those is a story, a family, a community, a school and a workplace.

"And when a crash like that happens, and a fatality happens in that way, it sends shockwaves right across those communities and it stay with people for generations, which is why it's so important that we try to get those numbers of people who have been killed or seriously injured on our roads down 0."

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