Cyclist airlifted to hospital with serious injuries after road rage incident

A cyclist was airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries on Sunday after a road rage incident involving motorbiker in an historic town centre.

Detectives are investigating the incident which happened on Sunday morning and scenes of crime officers sealed off an area of pavement outside a pub on a busy dual carriageway road in Rochester, Kent close to the 103-year-old Rochester Bridge.

Police say the victim, who has not yet been identified, was involved in an altercation with a motorcyclist.

One witness, who did not wish to be named, told a local newspaper that a man on a bike jumped a red light and a motorcyclist got off his bike and started hitting him.

The man then fell to the floor and had what appeared to be a seizure, according to the unnamed witness.

Police were unable to confirm this on Sunday but said that a cyclist had been airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries.

Police and paramedics were called to the scene.

A member of the public put the victim into the recovery position but witnesses said the motorcyclist drove off. 

A baseball cap and a blood-stained item of clothing were left on the pavement as the man was taken away in the helicopter. 

The incident took place on the edge of Rochester town centre close to the Medway Bridge and a few hundred yards away from Rochester Cathedral and the ruins of Rochester Castle which are popular with bank holiday tourists.

The incident happened directly outside The Crown Pub on the corner of Rochester Esplanade and the High Street.

Staff were unable to speak about the incident on Sunday.

Officers are now understood to be examining CCTV footage of the area to try and piece together what happened.

A Kent Police spokesman said: "Kent Police was called at 10.07am on Sunday 28 May 2017 to a report of an assault in Rochester High Street.

"It is believed there was an altercation between a motorcyclist and a cyclist prior to the assault.

"Officers attended along with paramedics and the cyclist has been flown to a London hospital with serious head injuries.

"Officers remain at the scene at this time and enquiries are ongoing."

No arrests have been made.