Police have revealed how officers saved a missing crash victim's life after launching a major manhunt to find him.

The stricken 31-year-old was thrown off his bike on the A28 near Bethersden late at around 11pm on Sunday.

But when police arrived he was nowhere to be seen, although his damaged bike was - with the engine still hot.

Officers - fearing his life could be in danger - launched a major search to find the rider.

He was eventually found two hours later seriously injured and sat in a hedgerow 2ft deep in water.

Police had called in a chopper, a police dog handler and checked hospitals before finally a gap in the roadside hedgerow was found.

The man, from Bodiam, East Sussex, was 500 metres from where the bike had ended up.

He was taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford where his condition is today described as stable.

Ch Insp John Frayne said: "It is likely that the officers who found this man have saved his life.

"The ambulance crew felt that if he had been there much no longer – completely out of sight of the road- he may have died.

"The officers were persistent in their search and did not give up.

"Despite being late at night the officers were helped in the two-hour search by those living nearby and we would like to thank them for what they did."