A biker has told how he was forced to take drastic action to save his life when a footbridge collapsed right in front of him on the M20.

Grandad Jim Shaw threw himself off his motorcycle when a lorry carrying a digger hit the span between J4 and J3 near Leybourne on Saturday, collapsing 170 tonnes of rubble into the London-bound carriageway.

The 73-year-old found himself sliding along the asphalt alongside his Yamaha MT-07, clearing the underside of the fallen bridge by inches.

The Thamesmead resident told KentOnline: "I was just coming back from the biker's cafe in Maidstone and I was planning to go back by Wrotham.

"As I came up to the bridge all hell broke loose. It happened very, very fast."

The part-time school bus driver said he saw rubble and detritus falling everywhere and reacted instantly.

"I had no choice but to take the bike down and fall and slide under it. Somewhere or other me and my bike parted company and I came out the other side. I knew I'd broke something, probably a rib.

"Suddenly there were people all around me, holding me still. An off-duty nurse attacked me with a pair of scissors, cutting off my clothes."

After being assessed by the nurse and paramedics at the scene, Mr Shaw was taken to Tunbridge Wells Hospital with three broken ribs. The driver of a lorry was treated for shock.

The crash closed the M20 in both directions for more than 24 hours and disrupted the plans of millions of drivers expected to use the key route over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Even as the drama unfolded across television screens Mr Shaw said his wife Doreen didn't find until he was in hospital.

"She called up saying it was going to rain and I should take the washing in," he said.

"I said 'no, I'm in hospital."

Mr Shaw has now been reunited with Doreen, 68 and the pair are due to travel home today. He doesn't know whether his bike is still roadworthy.