A CYCLIST left seriously injured by a Lake District chef who struck him at nearly 60mph in his car believed he would bleed to death.

Andrew Markwick has spoken of his terror at being abandoned on the side of the A591 in the middle of the night by Shane Gill, a former chef at the Low Wood Hotel, near Ambleside.

Gill was jailed by Kendal magistrates on Monday after pleading guilty to failing to stop and report the accident which happened on June 21, 2010.

Dr Andrew Markwick – an astrophysicist at the University of Manchester – needed ten operations and a skin graft to fix his shattered left leg and pelvis after the crash with the car, driven by Gill, close to Whitecross Bay on the road between Windermere and Ambleside.

The accident left the 36-year-old in a wheelchair for months and he still cannot walk without crutches.

Peter Kelly, prosecuting, told South Lakeland Magistrates’ Court that the accident happened at 12.30am when Dr Markwick was returning to The Sawrey Hotel, Hawkshead, after attending a physics conference in Bowness.

He had dismounted and was pushing his bike on the right hand side of the road where there was no pavement.

In a police statement Dr Markwick, from High Peak, Derbyshire, said: “I remember seeing car headlights and the movement of the lights suggested the car was moving from one kerb to another.

“I remember thinking I may be in trouble and I tried to get off the road.

"The next thing I remember is being on my back and thinking there was a problem with my legs.

“I was on my own long enough to think I was going to die.”

He had set off on his bike after drinking six pints.

He did not have lights but described the visibilty as ‘excellent’ and chose to face on-coming traffic ‘as a pedestrian would do.’ Investigation reports found that Gill, who now lives in Waterside, Lancaster, hit Mr Markwick at around 55mph and there would only have been a reaction time of 1.5 seconds.

Jackie Partington, defending, said: “He (Gill) wasn’t certain what he hit and he should have stopped and checked. He wouldn’t have expected somebody to be walking in the road on that side at night.

“In the morning he did see the damage to his car and walked past the same spot and made a point of looking but there was no sign of any damage.”

Mr Gill, who had a previous conviction for failing to stop at an accident in 2003, was sentenced to 70 days in prison and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Speaking after the court case Dr Markwick said: “I’m glad he’s been held to account.

“When I was lying in the road I felt certain I was going to die, that I was going to bleed to death.

"I remember seeing my mangled leg and thinking this was the end.”

A keen mountain biker, he hopes to cycle again but his first concern is to learn how to walk properly.

“Being hit at that speed I’m lucky to be alive so I’m just glad that my only injuries were to my leg.

"I’d like to thank the truck driver who found me and called the ambulance because he undoubtedly saved my life.”