A CYCLIST suffered serious injuries and had to be airlifted to hospital following a crash on the A35 in Christchurch.

Police were called at 6.55am this morning to reports of a serious collision between a green Mercedes estate and a push bike on the A35 at Roeshot Hill.

The cyclist, a man in his 20s, was reported to have suffered a serious head injury and Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance was called.

Dorset police confirmed the driver of the Mercedes, who was a man from Christchurch, was uninjured in the collision.

The road was closed for more than four hours between the Cat and Fiddle pub and the roundabout by Sainsbury’s to allow emergency services to deal with the incident.

Motorists were told to avoid the area and the road was re-opened just after 11.30am.

A spokesman from South Western Ambulance Service said: “We were called to reports of a collision between a car and a push bike on the A35 Lyndhurst Road just before 7am this morning.

“The cyclist suffered a serious head injury and the air ambulance was called.

“Paramedics were able to stabilise him at the scene and he was taken to Southampton General Hospital via air ambulance.”

One eyewitness said a car had gone into the hedge at the top of the hill.

A spokesman for Dorset police said the man's condition was serious but not considered life threatening.

Christchurch councillor Lesley Dedman has been campaigning for safety improvements along the stretch of road at Roeshot Hill for five years.

“How many more serious accidents do there have to be until someone takes notice and we get the safety improvements we need?” Mrs Dedman said.

“The issue is that the road goes from two lanes into one and the speed limit is also far too high.

“It’s very poorly designed and clearly causes a lot of problems for motorists as there have been four similar accidents there in the past six months.

“What we need is for there to just be one lane throughout and for the speed limit to be dropped to 30mph.

“And hopefully after five years we are finally getting somewhere.”