A biker left fighting for his life in a horror crash on the Ridgeway after his machine hit a deer has finally been reunited with the people who saved him.

Three years after the collision which almost claimed the life of David Lucas, he was brought together in an emotional moment with the ambulance paramedics who came to his rescue and a driver who came across the crash and found him on the road "by pure luck".

They were able to supply him with details about the night which he was previously unaware of.

At around 1.30am on July 8, 2015, Mr Lucas, from Dorchester, hit a deer on the A354 when he was riding home from a shift as a bus driver in Weymouth.

He suffered extensive injuries including two cracked ribs, a punctured lung, a ruptured spleen, a fractured collar bone, and a fracture to his left eye socket which resulted in partial sight loss.

Mr Lucas was put into an induced coma for four weeks. He was given a ‘50/50’ chance of survival.

At a special event at Dorchester Ambulance Station yesterday arranged by South Western Ambulance, Mr Lucas, now aged 59, met members of the crew who saved him.

He said: "It's been an emotional day. It's great to know who was involved and there for me in my time of need. I'd like to say a great big thank you to them all. If I was able to award them a medal I would."

He added: "It's a whole month I'll never get back. But everyone's filling in the gaps which is helping a lot. I am now trying to replace the negative with the positive."

Mr Lucas said he still gets flashbacks from the crash but his main goal now is to get back on his bike.

At the event was milkman Colin Woodsford, who made the call to the emergency services.

Mr Woodsford was travelling to work when he spotted Mr Lucas's motorbike on the side of the road.

He said: "I thought maybe the bike was stolen so carried on driving. About 50 feet further along the road I saw a foot sticking out of the verge and realised someone was there. It was pure luck I spotted him."

He immediately dialled 999.

Mr Woodsford added: "The woman I spoke to was amazing. She was so calm and talked me through what to do. It puts you at ease when you're faced with quite a disturbing accident.

"It's great to see David now. It's amazing to see the way he is – he's quite a character."

Paramedic Wendy Austin and operation officer, Mike Rowland attended the event and were part of the crew at the scene.

Mr Rowland said in his 25 year career with the ambulance service, it was only the second time he had seen a crash involving a motorbike and a deer.

He added it was one of the worst accidents he had attended where people had survived.

"It was in the hands of the gods that night. He was very fortunate to survive." he said.

Mr Rowland added: "When we first met today, it was quite moving . It's not very often we get to meet people we have helped. It's nice to be reminded of the difference you make and see a good result partly down to our efforts. It makes you proud."