A motorcyclist says he is lucky to be alive after being thrown nearly 80 feet into the air when his bike crashed.

And he wants to thank a military man who waited with him until the ambulance arrived.

Portakabin production planner Shaun Elvyn Farrar, 27, who lives with his girlfriend Dawn and 17-month-old-son Liam in Middlecroft Drive, Strensall, was recovering at home today after his terrifying ordeal which left him without a bone broken.

Shaun, riding a Honda VFR400, was in collision with a Honda Civic at Gally Gap crossroads, near Howsham, on Sunday.

"I saw the car and I just knew I was going to hit it. I thought I was a gonna," said Shaun who chose to leap off his bike at the last minute. "It was a case of either going straight into it or jumping.

"As I left the bike and I was tossed into the air I remember seeing the clock on the dashboard get smaller and smaller as I went higher.

"I remember wafting my hands as I was falling to try to keep my balance. I must have looked like a stuntman.

"I suppose it all must have looked a bit comical, but it certainly wasn't at the time." When he hit the ground, Shaun remembers rolling to a stop. Lying on his back he said he immediately felt pins and needles all over.

"I didn't realise the pain would hit me so instantly. I was waggling my feet but I couldn't feel them."

"Something like this really scares you," said Shaun, who admits he will still buy a new bike.

"I remember thinking of my girlfriend and of my son. He is so active and we love playing in the garden.

" I just felt too young to be crippled."

Shaun remembers a man, believed to be an army medic, who comforted him until the paramedics arrived.

"I could see people standing around feeling helpless," said Shaun. "But this one man just kept talking to me. I was feeling very sleepy but he said I had to stay awake. When the ambulance arrived just said "see you later" and disappeared."

Shaun was taken to Malton Hospital and transferred to York District Hospital with suspected serious back injuries. He was released five hours later.

Civic driver Norma Townsend of Thurcroft, near Rotherham and passenger Sheila Parkinson of Wickersley were not injured.

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