by Jenni Horn

A father of two has made an emotional return to the scene of a crash that almost killed him.

Sidecar champion Mark Cox, of Upnor Road, Rochester, was left fighting for his life after the smash at the Isle of Man TT Festival in June.

The vehicle careered off the road after hitting a hare and collided with a tree. Mr Cox was thrown 350 metres from the sidecar. His partner Nick Crowe, from the Isle of Man, was also seriously injured.

Last week Mr Cox met up with Mr Crowe for the first time since the accident at the very spot where it happened.

He said: “We both dropped our crutches and hugged each other. It was emotional.”

He added: “I’ve seen photos of the crash scene but being there and seeing the uprooted trees and how far I had been thrown from the bike was a real eye-opener.”

Five days after the crash, Mr Cox’s blood levels dropped dangerously low and his fiancee Amanda was told to prepare for the worst, but he fought back and 18 weeks on he was allowed to return home.

His pelvis, hip and ankle were shattered in the crash and he is now having physiotherapy to learn to walk again.