A dad needed 41 stiches and surgery after his e-bike brakes failed on a country lane.
Norman Roberts, 64, was riding his bike to go and see his friend, Aaron Reid, 56, when his brakes failed down a hill and he was flung 15 yards into a bush. He caught his left arm on barbed wire - slicing it open - and hit his right arm on a fence.
Norman called for help from Aaron and he dialled 999 - sharing their what3words location - which provides an accurate location using three randomised words. Norman was airlifted to Royal Stoke Hospital, Stoke-on-Trent, and went into surgery straight away. Norman had 11 stitches on the lacerations on his right arm and 30 for a compound fracture on his right.
He spent 10 days in hospital and then underwent physiotherapy but has still been left with nerve damage. Norman, a kitchen assistant, from Conwy Valley, north Wales, said: "I was trying to pull the brakes but nothing was happening. My bike's brakes failed and it didn't allow me to slow down quickly enough and stay on the road.
Norman needed 41 stiches and surgery after the incident (Norman Roberts/SWNS)"Fully losing control, I shot off over the edge of the hill. I got catapulted over 15 yards into a field having hit a barbed-wire fence. My left arm had been torn on the barbed wire and was spasming and bleeding profusely. The bone in my right forearm had broken and was poking through my skin. It was absolutely horrendous.
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"I don't know what I would have done without what3words. Even Aaron, who was familiar with the area, was struggling to locate me so I can't imagine how difficult that would have been without the technology."
Norman had already shared his location with Aaron, a business owner, while he was out at a farm on his pest control job in June 2021. He was on his way back to his friend's place when he lost control of the bike on a rural road. Norman said: "I felt a bang on my head, and landed on my back onto the pest control equipment I was lucky none of it pierced my torso.
"My face was covered in blood. I managed to dig my phone out of my pocket and called Aaron. He lives nearby and is familiar with the area, and I did my best to describe where I was." Aaron still struggled to spot Norman initially but was finally able to get to him and shared the what3words address - ///herds.novelists.thankful - with the emergency services.
Norman Roberts, 64 being helped by emergency teams following the crash (Aaron Reid/SWNS)Norman said: "I was swearing like mad to stay awake." An air ambulance arrived shortly after the accident and took Norman to Royal Stoke Hospital for surgery. As well as his arm injuries, Norman had torn his ACL and stayed in hospital for 10 days. He's been left with nerve damage but has been able to get back to his pest control hobby. I still get pain in my knee and I struggle with my right arm. I'm still here which is amazing. What3words - it could well have saved my life."
What3words works by dividing the globe into a grid of 3m x 3m squares and given each square a unique combination of three words. The technology is said to now be used by 85 per cent of the UK's emergency services.
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