A CYCLIST struck by a 4x4 near Ferryhill is the subject of a BBC Three documentary series, How Not To Die.

In 2016, Adrian Leake set off on a bicycle ride from Newcastle to London to raise money for charity when his bike was involved in a collision with a 4x4 vehicle on the A177 near Ferryhill, County Durham, on August 20.

The father-of-two was airlifted to hospital by the Great North Air Ambulance Service with serious injuries including a dislocated vertebrae and a compression fracture.

He spent three weeks in James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and had eight screws and two metal rods fitted down his spine.

A spokesperson for Great North Air Ambulance said: "In 2016 our paramedic and doctor team came to the aid of Adrian Leake, who feared he would never walk again after a bicycle crash near Ferryhill left him with severe spinal injures.

"Two years later, the father-of-two from Rugeley, Staffordshire, has made a great recovery and started a new career as a driving instructor.

"Adrian has now been featured in an episode of the BBC Three series How Not To Die, which aims to inform people of what to do if they find themselves in a life-threatening situation."