A CYCLIST whose friend was seriously injured after his bike collided with a sheep has criticised farmers who allow their animals to stray onto roads.

John McAulay, 47, suffered a fractured skull, broken ribs and a broken collarbone when his trek bike collided with the sheep on the descent towards The Inn at Whitewell on Tuesday.

His friend Les Dugdale had been cycling about 10ft behind John when the accident happened.

He said: "Five minutes before, John said it was the first time he had gone out without his helmet on.

"We saw the three sheep on the grass verge as we came round a bend. We must have startled them and they ran right underneath John's bike.

"It flipped him over the handlebars and into the middle of the road. He must have been going at 20mph.

"These sheep are allowed to wander on the roads and yet if a member of the public crossed a farmer's field he would be told off. "It makes me wonder how many accidents there are because of sheep in that area that are not reported. It is so dangerous to have sheep wandering on the roads."

Les, who owns his own hairdressing business in Leeds Road, Nelson, helped John to the side of the road.

John, of Cartmell Drive, Burnley, was talking and after about 20 minutes he said he would walk with his bike to the Inn and told Les to bike back to the van in Whalley.

Les said: "He set off walking and he seemed fine. So I cycled the 12 miles to get the van through the thunderstorm. As I was going back I passed the ambulance - the manager at The Inn had called them out because John had passed out on the verge.

"All that night I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking I should have gone for help straight away but John was walking fine and he was talking."

Les went to see his friend at Royal Preston Hospital last night and said he was talking and remembering what had happened but he was in agony with the pain.

Doctors said they were expecting to keep John in for at least the next three to four days.

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