A 73-year-old cyclist who was travelling along the new Lewes Road cycle lane woke up with a broken neck after coming off his bike.

These pictures show the aftermath of Bill McQueen's crash which took place at about 9.45am on Friday opposite Coombe Road.

The semi-retired University of Brighton lecturer, of Southdown Road, Brighton, was found unconscious by a horrified bus driver who called 999.

Paramedics blocked the scene while Mr McQueen was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton by ambulance.

Subsequent tests revealed he had fractured the bone connecting his spine and neck. 

His wife, Jillian, 71, said they were eager to find out what happened. She suggested he must have either fell, he was hit and the driver fled or that a driver hit him and did not realise.

Mrs McQueen, also a lecturer at the university, said she felt her husband was “a casualty of the Lewes Road road design” where she said there were points in the road where he had to pass across buses and cars.

Speaking about his injury, she said: “It's so shocking and scary. It is terrible. We would very much like to find out what happened and who was involved.”

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: “We received a call from the Royal Sussex County Hospital at 10.5am that morning to say that a 73-year old local man had been admitted with a serious neck injury, having fallen from his cycle in Lewes Road, Brighton, near the junction with Coombe Road, a short while previously.

"Police are investigating a report that he had been knocked from his cycle by a car which did not stop.”

A Brighton and Hove City Council spokesman said they were “very sorry” to hear about the “unfortunate incident” and wished Mr McQueen a speedy recovery.

The spokesman said: “Our understanding from the police is that the incident was caused by a problem with Mr McQueen's chain and that no other vehicles were involved.

“The work we have done to improve safety for all road users on the Lewes Road has been cited as an example of best practice nationally.

“Around 2,300 cyclists use the route on a daily basis. The design of the scheme ensures that cyclists are segregated from general traffic at possible points of conflict such as junctions and bus stops.”

Anyone who saw what happened is asked to contact Sussex Police via 101 or email collision.appeal@sussex.pnn.police.uk quoting serial 0691 of 29/11.”