This could have been any of us

Officers investigating a non-stop collision in Lechlade have released an image of a seriously injured motorcyclist, hoping this will prompt witnesses and the driver responsible to come forward.

Gerald Stockwell, a 66-year-old married man from Swindon, was riding his new Triumph Bonneville motorcycle along the A361, Burford Road in Lechlade at around 11.30am on Sunday 19 June.

As he approached the junction with Hambridge Lane, there were several stationary vehicles queuing into Lechlade. Mr Stockwell was heading in the opposite direction out of Lechlade when a vehicle overtook the queuing traffic, moving onto the wrong side of the road towards him and collided with him, before driving off from the scene at speed along Hambridge Lane.

The vehicle is described as a small light blue hatchback with a metallic finish around the same size as a Renault Clio. It also had a loud performance type exhaust. The driver was a man, described as white, in his early to mid-twenties, clean shaven and wearing a grey woollen type hat pulled down over his face.

Police have released a photo of Mr Stockwell at Bristol Royal Infirmary, where he remains in a stable condition being treated for a collapsed lung and multiple fractures.

PC Tim Griffiths, the investigating officer, said: “I am hoping that the release of this photo of Mr Stockwell, which I understand some people may find disturbing, will lead to the driver of the blue car contacting me about what happened on Sunday.

“I would also ask anyone who may have carried out or been asked to carry out any bodywork or repairs on a small blue hatchback car to the front on the driver’s side to contact me. I think it’s likely that the driver will be keen to get the car repaired.

“I am confident that someone will have information that will help me, whether it is a friend or maybe a relative, who might have seen them behaving unusually or who might recognise the description, especially the woolly hat.

“The response from the local community in Lechlade has been terrific. They are shocked that someone has behaved in this way, leaving another human being helplessly lying in the road. They, like me, suspect that the person responsible probably lives locally or has local knowledge from the route that they took.

“Mrs Stockwell is extremely upset by what has happened to her husband, she is grateful for the response from the local community and for the support and care that her husband has received in hospital.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident is urged to call police on 101 quoting incident 171 of 19 June.

You can also contact the independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or through their Anonymous Online Form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. No personal details are taken, information cannot be traced or recorded and you will not go to court.