Villagers aid stricken crash biker

GOOD Samaritans were thanked by ambulance chiefs for helping an injured motorcyclist until they arrived at a crash scene.

Residents at Bleak Hey Nook, a tiny hamlet on the outskirts of Delph, rallied after the young biker collided with a dry stone wall on Wednesday evening. Farmer Helen Wood raised the alarm after seeing the 20 year old lying under the twisted motorbike on a grass verge.

Neighbours David and Samantha Bentley rushed over with first aid equipment and phoned for an ambulance.

David (52) said: “The man had become disorientated and confused. He said he had pain in his ankle and knee. Samantha rang the ambulance again but no arrival time was given. The ambulance arrived 21 minutes later, 90 minutes after the first call. Locals and passers-by all offered help and blankets.”

One of the North-West Ambulance Service (NWAS) crew at the scene said: “The neighbours were marvellous. They did a terrific job until we arrived.”

The injured motorcyclist was recovering from the trauma and his boss, Paul Kirman, manger at Homebuild in Delph, said: “We’d like to offer a really big thank-you to everyone who helped.”

A North-West Ambulance Service spokesman said: “The trust offers our most sincere apologies to the patient for any distress caused.

“When the call was originally received it was allocated a lower priority due to the patient’s non life-threatening condition, but this was later upgraded.”