A CYCLIST was thrown over the handlebars of her electric bike after hitting a huge pothole.

Alex Jamieson, who runs the No 23 Bar & Bistro in Nelson Street, Stroud, needed hospital treatment and says she was lucky not to have suffered more serious injuries.

The incident happened as Alex was cycling down Gunhouse Lane towards the junction with the A419 London Road.

“I was unable to avoid the hole due to other vehicles on the road,” she said.

“The front wheel hit the pothole and I was thrown over the handlebars and landed on the kerb.

“I was very lucky not to have been hit by the driver of the lorry directly behind me.

“He wanted to take me to hospital there and then as my hands were bleeding and I was shaking and hurting all over, and, I believe, retrospectively, in shock.”

Alex was treated for whiplash across her shoulders, neck, both arms and back and bruising to the pelvis at Stroud General Hospital.

“I’m lucky not to have sustained much worse injuries to my head or broken my femur,” she said.

The A2B Octave Electric Bike had kindly been lent to Alex by Stroud’s eCycle store after staff heard how her own bike, a black Pedego electric cycle, was stolen.

It was locked up on the bike racks at Lansdown Hall & Gallery when it was taken last Monday, March 30.

The accident happened the following day.

Despite being very shaken up by the accident and upset by the theft, Alex has been touched by the kindness shown towards her.

“The kindness of people in Stroud who I do not even know, from eCycle to the nurses at SGH, and the many people who have responded to the stolen bike post on Facebook, has been incredible,” she said.

Alex said potholes on the road had been marked but that the paint had worn off, making them almost impossible to see.

Dan Tiffney, highways manager at Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) said: “We are sorry to hear about this cyclist’s incident.

“Whenever a pothole is reported to us or is identified through our own road inspection programme, we carry out a safety inspection to take a look at the size and nature of the issue.

“The most serious are repaired within 24 hours and others programmed to be repaired within 28 days, as per national guidelines.”

Last week the SNJ reported how GCC was calling on contractor Amey to improve its record on pothole repairs or face financial fines.