A MOTORCYCLIST from East Yorkshire was found alive after lying for almost three days in a water-filled ditch.

Humberside Police said the 40-year-old Goole man was believed to have collided with a metal signpost and then travelled approximately 200 metres further along the carriageway before coming to rest in the ditch, where he was hidden from view.

A spokesman said a missing person inquiry had been launched last week after the man had been reported missing by his partner having failed to turn up for work. His home and work place were checked, and checks carried out at nearby hospitals and police custody suites.

“After discovering the man’s powerful motorbike was also missing from his home address, additional checks were made to locate the motorcycle,” he said. Officers knew he had been planning to have a ride on his new motorbike. “An officer involved in the investigation, Inspector Rob Cocker, knew the man’s phone had not been used for at least 24-hours nor moved from its location in a very unpopulated large rural area, south of Snaith,” he said.

“Traffic officers were deployed to drive the route from the mans home address to work, however due to the time of day, the consortium police helicopter was also used in the search to check hedges and ditches.

“CCTV was checked and a dedicated systematic police search called POLSA was launched to methodically search for the missing man.”

There were two full days of searching rivers, reservoirs, fields, ditches, houses and gardens uintil a small amount of debris, believed to have come from a motorcycle, was found by officers last Thursday at the side of a road, close to the junction of Selby Road and Reed Holme Lane on the A614 just north of Thorne.

After a thorough search, the man was found 6ft down a ditch between East Cowick and Thorne, just inside the South Yorkshire Police area. He was lying in water, conscious and breathing.

He said the man suffered serious injuries, including broken ribs and hyperthermia, and was currently being treated at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

* Anyone who witnessed the incident or anyone with information that could assist officers is asked to call South Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 438 of the 14 September 2012.