A CYCLIST who was thrown from her bike after hitting a pot hole in a road in Sandridge two months ago is still nursing her wounds from the accident.

Dawn Hewlett, of Taylor Close, St Albans, was cycling along St Albans Road in the dark towards the city centre when she hit a deep groove in the road.

The sudden impact of the collision hurled Dawn, 45, from her saddle into the middle of the road where she lay in the path of oncoming cars.

She told the Review: "I didn't see this particular pothole, and ended up in the middle of the road, with cars zooming around the corner at 40mph and no escape to a pavement.

"It was terrifying because it was dark, I was lying down in the middle of the road, I was in pain and I was really concerned that I was going to be hit by a car.

"It took me a while to pick myself up and hobble with my bike to the safety of the pavement some distance away.

"I bruised my shin bone quite badly and it took nearly a month for the bruising to go down which was from below the knee to beyond my ankle, and the gash is still healing."

Dawn, who suffers from a rare muscle disorder which can prolong the healing of physical injuries, says she now thinks twice about taking to the roads on her specialist motorised bike, insisting that until repairs are carried out on the stretch is not safe for cyclists.

"It's dangerous for cyclists," she said.

"You have to suddenly swerve around potholes which causes problems with traffic behind you and we motorists are impatient anyway - the potholes don't help at all.

"I'm trying to do my bit in my corner of the world to help the environment by cycling but the roads are just appalling."

In last week's Review, cyclist Clive North compared riding along the same stretch to a game of Russian roulette.

Hertfordshire County Council said a full resurfacing of the road from King William IV junction and Coleman Green Lane had been planned for the end of March but that February's snowfall had disrupted its repair programme and caused delays, adding that works had been re-scheduled for early May.

Paul Walecki of Hertfordshire Highways has insisted that temporary repairs are being carried out on the stretch to ensure road conditions are safe.