A cyclist has thanked an off-duty paramedic who came to his aid after a “scary” crash which knocked him unconscious and wiped his memory of the whole day.

Andy McCord was riding down Bridge Hill in Bridge, near Canterbury, when he collided with a car coming out of a nearby junction and “somersaulted” over the vehicle.

The 56-year-old said: “I have no recollection of the day at all.

“I rode my bike to Sandwich from Chartham and back again via Bridge.

“I know this because I posted a picture of myself on Facebook in Sandwich, but I can’t remember doing it.

“A witness told me that I hit the car and somersaulted over it.

“Thankfully, a paramedic who lives in the village came to my aid, but I have zero memory.

“My wife got to the scene and told me he was amazing and looked after me until the ambulance arrived.”

The father-of-three reached the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford with very low blood pressure and suffered from a broken nose and shoulder.

He was desperate to find the man who helped him until the ambulance crew arrived, and put out a plea on Facebook.

Luckily, the right villager was found.

The parademic, called Simon, who works out of the Ashford base, was alerted to the crash by another local and walked up to the scene from his home.

He told KentOnline: “I was informed by a friend who had passed the incident that there was a chap who had been hit by a car.

“I walked up to the incident to check the gentleman was okay, where I remained until the crew arrived.

“I’d just like to wish Andy a speedy recovery and hope that he will be back in the saddle soon!”

Mr McCord is now on the mend and says his collision has not put him off cycling.

He explained: “It was a scary time, but once I’m in better health and my bike is replaced or repaired I hope to be back on the road again as I still believe the health benefits outweigh the risks.

“On the positive side, my helmet certainly saved my head. You could see where it took the impact.

“I’m just grateful to still be here.

“The heroes of the day are Simon and the emergency services, the hospital and all the people on Facebook who wrote lovely comments.

“It was unfortunate but I was very lucky.”

A spokesperson for the ambulance service said: “I can confirm that we were called to the junction of Bourne Park Road and Bridge Hill, Bridge, at approximately midday on Saturday to reports of a road traffic collision involving a vehicle and a bicycle.

“Ambulance crews attended the scene and the cyclist was assessed and treated at the scene before being taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

“We thank Mr McCord for his kind words and wish him a swift recovery.”