A DAD from Dursley wants compensation after suffering serious injuries when he fell off his bike after going over a crumbling manhole cover in Cam.

David Halford, 40, was just two weeks away from doing the London Marathon when his cycling accident left him with a broken shoulder and deep cuts across his face and body.

He is now demanding that Severn Trent Water, the company responsible for maintaining manhole covers, pays him compensation.

But Severn Trent has refused to accept liability for the accident, which happened in Manor Avenue on April 9.

Mr Halford went over the sunken manhole cover at about 30mph and was flung, with the bike, across the road.

“The front wheel just turned about 90 degrees and I was flung about 50 yards, but I was strapped to the bike and my instinct was to grip the steering wheels so that came with me,” he said.

“I had broken my right shoulder and had suffered severe abrasions on my face, arms, legs and back, but at first I was just numb. The pain didn’t set in until later.

“I called a friend to come and help me and eventually ended up in Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for x-rays.”

Severn Trent denied liability, claiming it is "impractical" to regularly check manhole covers and that the public should bring problems to their attention.

Mr Halford said: “I just want them to admit they're liable and award me a small sum of compensation. I don’t want thousands of pounds.

“I think it’s absolutely mad that they would leave something this dangerous on our highways, then after my accident turn around and say I should have told them before it happened.”

An employee at a company that operates the largest law school in the UK, Mr Halford is currently considering his legal options.

A spokesman for Severn Trent said: “A damaged manhole cover in Manor Avenue, Cam, was reported to us by the local council at the end of April.

“We immediately arranged for a repair to be done and this was completed at the beginning of May. We have around 91,000km of sewer pipes across the region, with thousands of manholes.

“Unfortunately it’s just impractical for us to inspect all of these on a regular basis, and so we have to rely on people telling us when they spot a problem.”