A cyclist who feared a poor surface would lead to a crash on one of Shepway's busiest roads had an accident herself after being launched off her bike when she hit a pothole.

Clare Pryke, from Hythe, was left with nasty injuries after crashing in Sandgate whilst riding home from Folkestone on Thursday evening.

She was sent flying over the handlebars and crashing into the pavement, landing on her head.

Now she is calling for the A259 at Sandgate Hill and the bottom of the hill into Sandgate High Street to be completely resurfaced to prevent further injuries.

It is a route she uses often and says she has had to avoid the potholes for years.

She told our sister paper the Folkestone and Hythe Express: “I hit something in the road and luckily my bike wheel was pushed to the left.

"If it had been to the right I would have been going in to the oncoming traffic.

“I swerved to the left and flew over the handlebars and smacked on to the pavement and landed on the left side of my face. I broke the fall with my hand.

“I had a suspected fracture to my head and shoulder but the x-ray showed it was fine.

“My vision and hearing went a bit weird and I was a bit dazed.”

She was not wearing a helmet but says the crash “has definitely made me want to wear it from now on”.

The road is maintained by Kent County Council, which is responsible for managing the county’s highways.

Miss Pryke has a simple message to the authority: “The main thing is please repair and resurface the road there before something like this happens again as next it might be a child.

"It’s been like it for years.

“The first thought that came to mind was it was an accident waiting to happen.

“I wasn’t driving like a maniac or anything and the drivers said I wasn’t.

“I always put my brakes on and always down the hill because I know I have to navigate those potholes.”

Miss Pryke spent around three hours being checked over at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

"Please repair and resurface the road there before something like this happens again as next it might be a child" - Clare Pryke

“I remember when I fell off thinking I’m in so much pain,” she said.

“I was worried I was going to have to wait about an hour but they arrived in about five minutes. I had a lovely international team looking after me.”

A Kent County Council spokesman said: “We are concerned to hear of this lady’s injuries and we wish her a speedy recovery.

“In this instance, Sandgate High Street was resurfaced three years ago from Military Road to the monument and more recently Sandgate Hill has had work to fill potholes.

“We will continue to monitor the road and make it safe where appropriate.

“We select the right method at the right time to get best value for money.

“We work hard to maintain our roads to help prevent problems and potholes in the future and resurfacing roads is an essential part to maintaining our 5,400 mile road network for longer.

“Our resurfacing programme is published on Kent.gov and our programme is based on road condition data.

“This includes regular inspections, annual surveys using specialist equipment, and reports from councillors, parish councils, community groups and residents.

“We schedule in planned work each year.”