CRASH victim Pete Bower appealed for drivers to ‘please look out for motorcyclists’ as he revealed he will never get in the saddle again.

Mechanic Pete has been allowed home from hospital after nine-and-a-half weeks following his life-threatening crash and is warning drivers and motorcyclists to respect each other on the road.

He thought he had died at one point after the crash on Portland Beach Road and has had so many operations to rebuild the broken bones down his right side that he has lost count.

He called for drivers to ‘always double check’ to try to reduce the number of motorcyclists who are injured. He said: “People often don’t see motorcyclists and it’s been a problem for years. Please be aware and always double check to make sure there’s not a bike coming towards you. Don’t rely on your mirrors, you need to turn your head to check your blind spot.

“Every week you hear of some sort of accident. A friend of mine was recently knocked over when someone didn’t see him.”

Pete, 54, is especially worried about young riders on modern bikes with a “colossal” 180 brake horsepower that can go up to 200 miles per hour. He said: “It’s a rocket on wheels basically.”

Pete said after 40 years of “pretty much accident free” riding, he has hung up his leathers after his wife has been “to hell and back” watching him in hospital.

Pete, of Church Lane, Portland, said his right side was “clobbered” when his Suzuki DL1000 V.Strom touring style bike collided with a black Audi A3 on the causeway.

As people rushed to his aid Pete said he blacked out and saw visions of passed away loved ones before he came round.

Pete Bower suffered a broken arm, hip, leg, ribs, pelvis and femur – the biggest bone in the body.

Surgeons needed to take muscle from his shoulder to his leg and carry out skin grafts, and every day Pete needs to adjust the spatial frame fitted to his right leg.

Pete feared losing his leg and has had metal spikes put into it. He also has a metal plate in his arm now.

Despite surgeons expecting him to remain in Bristol Hospital until Christmas, he has delighted wife Mary by being allowed home early.

He said: “It’s good to be home.

“The first thing I noticed was how quiet it was. In Bristol all you could hear were ambulances. You come home and it’s typical Portland. Nice and quiet.”

Pete - whose son Peter is looking after the family business Peter Bower Motor Vehicles - has been told he could be walking again within two years and is getting around on crutches.

“You’ve got to be positive,” he said. “I want to progress as quickly as I can and I think that’s helped me come through it.”

His wife Mary was ecstatic when Pete made it home after physiotherapy at Portland Community Hospital. She said: “I’m delighted that he is back.”