A biker who lost his leg after a horror crash in Wiltshire is determined to get back in the saddle.

On April 29 Matthew Watson, from Royal Wootton Bassett, set out for a motorcycle ride towards Devizes, on Bath Road, from his friend Ashley Quigley’s house in Melksham.

The pair had been travelling for just a few minutes when Matthew’s life was turned upside down by a shocking accident near Brooke’s Farm in Seend.

As the 31-year-old used the opposite side of the road to overtake queuing traffic at around 40mph, a woman driving a car made an abrupt turn into the farmhouse.

Matthew collided with the side of the vehicle head on, trapping his leg between car and bike before being thrown around 50 feet down the road.

“I remember just thinking 'f***' as I saw her pull out and I knew I had no time to do anything”, he said.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: The scene after the crash

“I was still accelerating and had no time to break so it was just ‘oh, this is going to happen’, and then I just remember being on the other side after hitting the car and feeling really hot.

“Apparently I was trying to stand up and walk it off, which wasn’t going to happen, it was just the adrenaline pumping through me.”

Matthew’s leg had been torn below the hip and he was bleeding severely from his artery.

Luckily for him, Ashley quickly stepped in and applied a tourniquet to the injury which stemmed the bleeding using a bystander’s belt.

“If he wasn’t there I probably wouldn’t have made it”, Matthew added. “He just dived in and kept me afloat, he’s the hero in this story.”

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald:

Within half an hour an air ambulance had arrived, and Matthew was flown to Southmead Hospital, in Bristol, where he remained for around a week.

He woke up two days after the accident and was told his left leg had been amputated.

He said: “I kind of knew it had already gone but I needed it confirmed. That was the first time I really put my hand where my leg should have been and felt it.

“Up until that point I had been purposely avoiding it, because I knew but I didn’t want to know.”

Matthew also had eight broken ribs and a fractured spine. Including the amputation, he underwent three surgeries on his leg.

Now Matthew has returned home and is adapting to life with just one leg as he attempts to “relearn” 31 years of habits.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Matthew back on a bike after getting out of hospital

In the long term, he has his sights firmly set on a return to the road after riding bikes regularly for the last six years.

He added: “It has shook me a little bit but it definitely won’t keep me off the bikes. There’s something in me that tells me I have to get back on one.

“It will have to be adapted and a few changes made for me to ride it, but I just need to do it for me.”

In order to make the transition as easy as possible, Ashley has started a GoFundMe page so that Matthew can secure a prosthetic leg with a mechanical knee, something they have been told is unavailable on the NHS.

He added: “Matthew’s determination and will has been unmatched and we hope that we can all help support his redevelopment with a small donation.”

Ashley has urged people to learn basic first aid in case of emergency situations and reminded all motorcyclists that the accident could have “been much worse” had Matthew not been wearing full leathers and travelling well under the speed limit.