A stunned villager says he is lucky to have escaped serious injury after his wheelie bin was wiped out by a motorcycle just seconds after he put it out for collection.

It was destroyed by one of two bikes which crashed while trying to negotiate the bend at the top of The Hill in Littlebourne, near Canterbury.

Retired scientist Dr Alan Legge said: “I could hear the roar of approaching motorcycles as I put the bin out but as I walked back towards the house, there was a screech, a skid and a bang.

“I instantly knew there had been a crash and when I rushed back to the gate, I saw one of the machines had mounted the pavement and wiped the bin out.”

Dr Legge, 75, said the first rider to fall later told him he knew he wasn’t going to make the bend and had touched his brakes, causing him to crash.

Meanwhile, the rider behind was unable to avoid him and went down too.

He continued: “I am just so relieved that no one was hurt, but if I or anyone had been on that pavement when this incident occurred, they would surely have suffered very serious injuries.

“They were both a bit shaken up and one had a cut on his leg, but fortunately they were wearing full protective clothing.

“Both were very respectful and one even came back the following evening with £50 to compensate me for my bin, which was wrecked.

“It could have been so much worse because we also get families regularly walking past our house to get to the woods and I shudder to think what might have happened.”

The smash happened at about 8pm last Wednesday.

Parish councillor Cate Reid says it highlights the need to extend the boundary of the 30mph limit.

"If I or anyone had been on that pavement when this incident occurred, they would surely have suffered very serious injuries..."

She and other members of the parish council have been campaigning for the speed restriction to be increased by Kent County Council further out of the village, well before the road bends.

“It would encourage drivers to slow down sooner and will be even more important when the homes are occupied in the new List development, which exits onto the A257,” she said.

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