When Daniel Webster went out mountain biking near Hollingbourne he decided to do his normal route in reverse - a decision which may have saved his life.

Midway into his journey yesterday morning the father of two found barbed wire stretched at chest level across the footpath between two trees.

"It was something out of Mad Max," said the 39-year-old from Sittingbourne. "It was definitely a trap."

Mr Webster was cycling along a trail between Pilgrims Way and Ringlestone Road along a route popular with leads with cyclists, walkers and horse riders in the area around Leeds Castle.

He said:"I was riding with my head down and I happened to look up when a glint caught my eye and I realised something was stretched across the road.

"The wire was tied between two trees. It was neatly cut and stretched tight.

"I normally come the other way down the hill but I had decided to do it in reverse. I would have been going at 20 mph and I would never have seen it. I would never have stood a chance."

The Glebe Lane resident took down the wire and took to Facebook to warn others about what happened. This was shared by more than a thousand people. He said he would also report the incident to Kent Police.

He said:"I was shocked. I felt like I had a lucky escape. There is always a problem with logs and the like being put on trails used by mountain bikers. But never something like this.

"This didn't look like the work of kids, it was so tidy. I don't really understand why people do this sort of thing."