The cyclist who was hit by a car slamming into the windscreen and miraculously landing on his feet - while catching it all on helmet camera - was “lucky” not to break his neck.

Fortunate survivor Jack Thoburn, who crashed on London Road, Romford, posted the footage on Youtube before it went viral with even Lord Alan Sugar tweeting “bloody hell, that’s one lucky cyclist and one terrible driver”.

The 27-year-old biker acknowledged he was lucky just to walk off with bruising and said: “A couple of seconds earlier I would have hit the front of the car and ended up in the road, under a car, or even worse.

“A few seconds later and I would have hit the side of the car and could have broken my neck.”

The video evidence of the incident earlier this month clearly shows the driver not noticing Mr Thoburn and turning right across his lane.

But when Mr Thoburn, of Billericay, tried to claim on the driver’s insurance in order to replace his destroyed bike there was a dispute.

However, the insurers paid immediately when he handed over the footage.

“In these kinds of cases where you are simply using it to protect yourself legally, then helmet cameras can come in very handy - in this case helping get my insurance claim through faster,” he said.

Mr Thoburn, who was only wearing the camera for the second time when he was hit, issued advice to drivers and cyclists alike.

“Take your time, people are always in a rush these days and cycling is growing. We need investment in cycle schemes and lanes, we need awareness from drivers that we have as much right to be on the road as drivers,” he said.

“And we need awareness from cyclists as well, there are as many bad cyclists as there are bad drivers.”

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