Young Greenhithe amputee James Hazel refuses to let disability hold him back, after life-changing biking accident

Greenhithe resident James Hazel, now 24, was riding home from work at Fleet Insurance in Sidcup when he pulled out to overtake, not realising there was a vehicle in his blind spot, on September 5, 2013.

The youngster was shunted across the four-lane main road and hit by a tractor, lorry, Ford Mondeo and transit van.

Doctors were forced to put Mr Hazel in an induced coma and operate. He celebrated his 22nd birthday in his hospital bed.

The Knockhall Road resident told News Shopper: "My mum had been told to expect the worst. The police had come to the hospital to identify me.

"I didn't remember what had happened. Then there was one night that I made sense of it. I was just glad to be alive."

Mr Hazel is determined to be positive about his condition, and challenge preconceptions about disabilities.

He added: "There were a couple of times when I let it get the better of me - but I managed to talk myself out of it.

"It's not constructive to get upset about something that you can't change.

"I always have my prosthetic on show. I try not to hide it, to make people realise it's a normal thing."

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Mr Hazel broke an arm and his right leg in the crash, and was wheelchair-bound for several months.

He added: "That was a big struggle, having to rely on people.

"One day I pushed myself all the way up the stairs on one arm.

"I got really emotional because I couldn't do it, but then I put everything into it and that was a big lesson."

Mr Hazel is fundraising for a battery operated, power assisted replacement to his NHS leg, and needs to raise £72,000 for the Genium X3 knee and ankle.

He added: "The new leg knows when you're going to break into a run or a jump.

"With my current one, I am hobbling up and down stairs all day.

"It's going to change my life an immeasurable amount."

Mr Hazel has raised over £4,000 in just two weeks.