Cyclist left to dead by hit-and-run driver completes challenge from John O'Groats to Lands End

A cyclist who was left to dead by a drunk hit-and-run driver midway through his trek from John O'Groats to Lands End, has completed the journey after learning how to rewalk.

Jean-Pierre 'JP' de Villiers, 39, had to relearn how to walk after the incident left him with two shattered legs, a fractured arm, punctured lung, bowel and heart trauma.

The motivational speaker from Welton, Northamptonshire, was 880 miles into the 1,000 mile cycling challenge when he was mowed down by a disqualified driver in a stolen car on a main road outside Combe Martin, North Devon on 22 May 2019.

Hit with such force, JP was found by locals at a nearby holiday camp wedged between a tree and a the barrier at the side of the road with his bike shattered to pieces.

Last month JP, originally from South Africa, returned to the crash site and finally finished the cycle challenge he had first set about completing.

JP said: "For me, this was a life changing experience, but I am grateful to be alive.

"It just doesn't seem real that it happened.

"Because of my job as a mindset coach I never thought 'Why me?' and feel sorry for myself.

"It is what it is and I used it as fuel to practice gratitude and drive me to the goal.

"Of course it wasn't plain sailing. I suffer from PTSD from the accident and I felt like I lost who I was.

"But I was determined to finish it."