A CYCLIST has told how her helmet saved her life in a crash on a North Yorkshire road.

Fiona Wynne, from Hambleton, said she lost her front teeth, suffered a significant facial cut which will leave a permanent scar, broke some ribs and suffered a nasty cut to the back of her head in the collision on a rural road between Malton and Easingwold.

But she said her helmet prevented fatal head injuries and she was speaking out now to urge other cyclists always to wear one.

“I was genuinely shocked when I saw the bashing my helmet had sustained: that could have been my skull,” she said. “If I’d not been wearing a helmet, I know for sure I would not be here to tell the tale.

“Some of the injuries only took a matter of weeks to heal, but others will take much longer. I am only just beginning my dental treatment (delayed due to the Coronavirus). My dentist tells me that it will take up to six months to sort out my teeth.

“In the meantime, I have suffered from severe concussion, which has left me with a form of vertigo. Hopefully, with physiotherapy, this will eventually be resolved.

“Issues with my balance have meant that I struggle to ride a bike and I’m lucky if I can do 20 miles these days. But I was determined to get back on a bike. Not my beloved bike, you understand. My bike was a write-off and I’ve had to buy a new one.”

She said she had been cycling with a friend when the accident happened as a vehicle was passing her. She was knocked unconscious and airlifted to hospital because paramedics feared the worse.

“I’ve shared my story because I can,” she added. “Think about it. If you are going out on a bike… no matter how short a journey, no matter how confident or indestructible you feel, please wear a helmet!”