A motorcyclist has been seriously injured after crashing into a lamppost in Mongeham Road.

Police officers, paramedics and the air ambulance were called to the scene at about 1.36pm today (Monday) following a road traffic collision involving a motorcycle.

The rider was airlifted to St George's Hospital in London with head and thorax injuries.

Police were forced to temporarily close the road but it has since reopened.

Gardener Ian Levett was working in a garden beside the road and helped alert the emergency services.

He said: “I heard the motorbike come down the road and then hit the lamppost.

“I poked my head out and saw the man and then ran inside to the call 999.”

Mr Levett has praised the ambulance service for their quick response.

He said: “They were here within five or six minutes and then the air ambulance came about ten minutes later.”

The electric lamppost on the corner of Mongeham Road and Northbourne Road has been turned off for safety reasons.

Some houses in the area are also without electricity.

The number 14 Stagecoach bus is diverting through Burgess Green while the road remains closed.

According to a witness, it happened near the bend towards Solley's Farm.

Martin Very, police press spokesman, said: "The motorcycle rider has serious injuries and has been taken to a London hospital."