Biker who spent three days in ditch moved to spinal unit

A SERIOUSLY injured biker, who survived three days undiscovered in a ditch, has been moved to a specialist spinal unit.

Anthony Margrave's family are praying he will make a full recovery from a spinal fracture and be able to walk again.

He was unable to move in a 6ft ditch after crashing his new motorbike on the A614 near Goole.

After three days and nights of searches, debris in the road eventually led police to him.

Relatives of Mr Margrave, 40, say he has recovered some sensation in his arms and legs but there are no guarantees he will walk again.

His niece Leah Margrave is making regular visits to his bedside at The Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Unit at Sheffield's Northern General Hospital.

She said: "The specialist at the unit was hoping to tell him 'we will have you up and about' but they can't guarantee that.

"They are just hopeful. They say they will have to watch and wait. We are on tenterhooks but it's a waiting game. The hospital say it will be quite a while."

Leah, 28, said Mr Margrave has a fractured spine, as well as other injuries.

She said: "Once the swelling goes down around the spinal cord, hopefully more sensation will come back. We just have to wait.

"He has slight movement in his arms and a sensation like pins and needles in his arms and legs."

The family has been warned recovery will be a long haul, following Mr Margrave's transfer from Doncaster Royal Infirmary to the specialist unit in Sheffield.

Leah said: "It will be five to six months in hospital and recovery could be 16 to 18 months.

"It will be a long haul and we just have to be patient. There are no guarantees.

"As well as the spinal injury, he had a bleed on the brain at some point from the trauma of the impact.

"His broken ribs are not fully healed but they are not bothering him as much as the other things.

"He's still quite swollen- looking."

Following the accident, Mr Margrave had to have a tracheotomy to open up his windpipe to assist his breathing and he is still being drip-fed.

Leah said: "He's now drinking fluids but he still has a tube down his nose into his stomach.

"He is still linked up to loads of machines.

"They had him sedated for a few days but he's absolutely shattered. Luckily, he's a tough old boot."

She said Mr Margrave, who lives alone and is employed by a company that manufactures breeze blocks, is naturally concerned about what the future holds.

She said: "He's having some really up and down days.

"He's a little bit concerned about his future, how he will cope and things like that."

Mr Margrave, a father of two, has not spoken about the accident, which happened on September 11.

Leah said: "He has not really spoken about it.

"I don't know if he remembers anything."

Mr Margrave, of Rawcliffe Bridge, had survived three days and nights in a ditch after his cries for help went unheard following his crash.

Police called in a helicopter to help scour the countryside and "pinged" Mr Margrave's mobile phone in an attempt to narrow the search following his disappearance.

It is thought his powerful new Kawasaki motorbike had hit a signpost on the offside of the road before he landed in the ditch some 200 metres further down the road.