A cyclist suffered life-threatening injuries after being involved in a collision with a bus.

The injured man was airlifted to a serious trauma unit at King’s College Hospital, London.

The collision happened on the A24 between Buck Barn and Southwater shortly before 11.30am yesterday.

Police said the cyclist was from a nearby village.

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Paramedics treated him at the roadside for about an hour before he was airlifted to hospital by Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance.

Both carriageways were closed and diversions set up while the emergency services attended.

Ian Bone, who works at the Co-op petrol station at Buck Barn crossroads, said: “It must have been an hour while they were treating the cyclist.

“I saw them pulling a white racer bike from under the bus, but there was no sign of the bloke.

“The traffic was really heavy because as well as the road closures people were stopping to look what was going on.”

The Metrobus involved was carrying passengers but none were injured. Police questioned them about what they had seen.

A spokeswoman for Metrobus said the Route 23 service had been travelling southbound to Worthing and the company was helping police find out what happened.

Cyclists have been involved in several collisions across Sussex in recent weeks. Last Saturday Justin Futers, 47, of Littlehampton, escaped with cuts and bruises after being knocked down and pinned under a car for 30 minutes in Ferring.

Lifelong cyclist Robert McHardy, 66, of Burgess Hill, died in hospital after striking a fence in Hassocks in December.

Lecturer Bill McQueen, 73, of Brighton, woke up with a broken neck after coming off his bike on Lewes Road in November.

Cyclist Paul Novak, 50, of St Leonards, died after a hit-and-run collision near Robertsbridge in November.

In October a 40-year-old cyclist from Hove suffered a broken neck after being involved in a collision with a car on Park Avenue.

Witnesses to the Buck Barn collision should call Sussex Police on 101 or email collision.appeal@suss-ex.pnn.police.uk quoting Operation Reagan.