A man has told how he broke 14 bones in his body in a terrifying motorcycle accident.

Keiron Gavaghan, 40, was riding on his motorcycle near Ripon, North Yorkshire, when his bike suffered a detrimental engine failure.

Oil from the engine then caused a fire, leaving Mr Gavaghan no choice but to jump from the bike leaving him with life-threatening injuries.

The father-of-two, from Batley, West Yorkshire, is speaking about the accident, which happened in July 2013, because he is raising money for the ambulance services which helped save his life.

“Unfortunately, some of the bones went right through my lungs and when I stood up quickly, I realised I couldn’t breathe and keeled over.

A second rider then stopped at the scene and quickly called emergency services before moving Mr Gavaghan away from the blazing bike.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) then arrived on the scene joined by the fire brigade, who swiftly put out the devastating fire that had spread to nearby hedgerows.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Keiron with his daughters Niamh and Orlaith.Keiron with his daughters Niamh and Orlaith. (Image: GNAAS)

Initial assessments then saw Great North Air Ambulance (GNAA) being called in to help, where it was discovered Mr Gavaghan had a collapsed lung with internal bleeding.

Medics then flew him to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where two chest drains were inserted, and a full body MRI scan was undertaken.

He said: “The timeframe of getting me to hospital was essential otherwise it could have been a fatality. I was in intensive care then the high dependency unit and I discharged myself after eight days.

“It took three years of physio and surgery to get better, and it was touch and go at the start whether they could save my arm.”

Following his incident, close friend Alan Brigg was involved in a similar collision near Ingleton and airlifted to hospital by Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Now, nearly ten years on from his ordeal, Mr Gavaghan and his friend are fundraising for GNAAS and YAA and have so far raised over £14,000.

His next challenge is to raise further funds by running the Great North Run in September, admitting if it wasn’t for the service, he wouldn’t be sharing his story today.

“The Great North Run is a great fun day out and helps to motivate people to stay healthy. If you can do something which you enjoy at the same time as raising funds for a vital service like GNAAS then why not.

“GNAAS may be something people never need, and hopefully don't, but if you or a loved one ever does need to call upon them, they are there.”