“It could save your life.”
Do you wear a cycle helmet when you’re out on your bike? For one cyclist, doing so may well have saved him from a fractured skull.
West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to the junction of Pendeford Mill Lane and Barnhurst Lane in Codsall near Wolverhampton at about 4.40pm on Wednesday afternoon.
An ambulance, a rapid response vehicle and a paramedic officer were sent to the scene. Exactly what had happened was not clear.
Area Support Officer, Huw Jones, said: “When we arrived we found a man, who was about 50 years old with a badly damaged helmet. Witnesses said the man had landed on his head when he came off his bike. The plastic covering was cracked and the foam insert was broken from the force of the impact. Had he not have been wearing a helmet we could easily have been looking at a fractured skull.
“There was a suggestion that the man might have been knocked unconscious briefly, but although there was some swelling, he didn’t appear to have been badly hurt. The helmet undoubtedly took the brunt of the impact, possibly saving him from much more serious injury.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen cyclists helmets badly damaged yet the rider comes away with relatively minor injuries. With cycling very much in the news because of the Tour de France, I would urge anyone going out on a bike to wear a helmet – it could save your life.”