Iain McGee, from Littlebourne, with his off-road motorcycle

by Gerry Warren

A motorcyclist says he was nearly garotted by a vine deliberately tied across a byway.

Gas engineer Iain McGee was riding his off-road bike with friends in the countryside near Canterbury when he was snared and thrown from his machine.

Mr McGee, 30, of Jubilee Way, Littlebourne, suffered bruising to his neck, but says his injuries could have been much worse.

He said: "There was no doubt the vine, which was about an inch thick, had been deliberately stretched across the path as some kind of snare.

"It was a very dangerous thing to do and I was only lucky that I was going quite slowly.

"It was quite indiscriminate because it could have been a child on a bicycle or somebody on horseback."

Mr McGee, whose wife Laura is expecting their first child, says he and his friends were riding legally on the path at Shepherdswell and always make an effort to respect walkers.

He said: "Some don't appreciate bikers using the byways and I know that a minority of riders are not as considerate as they might be.

"Maybe that was what was behind this. But we go out of our way to look out for walkers and other users."

Mr McGee reported the incident to police, who initially logged it as "serious", but he added he is disappointed they now appear not to be interested in pursuing it.