Cyclists urged to wear helmets after Shrewsbury teenager's multiple injuries
A family has urged cyclists to always wear helmets after a teenager suffered multiple fractures to his face in a fall from his bike.
Tudor Bevan-Jones, 15, from Shrewsbury, was out with a group of friends on Monday when the accident happened and he was knocked unconscious.
His sister Nikita, 23, is leading the family's campaign to highlight just how severe cycling injuries can be.
She said: "Tudor always wears a helmet, but the one day he didn't, he ended up severely injured."
When Nikita and her mother, Sarah Shannon, were told of Tudor's accident they went to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to wait for the ambulance and were shocked when they saw the severity of the injuries.
"Tudor was on a stretcher with a neck brace," she said.
"He had to have multiple scans including a CT scan as medical staff were concerned he may have sustained a brain injury. Luckily the scan was OK.
"Tudor has sustained fractures in multiple places to his face and a fracture to his wrist. The doctors wanted to transfer him to the children's hospital at Telford, however he was adamant he wanted to come home, where he is now resting."
She said her brother had an appointment at the fracture clinic on Monday but in the meantime had had to go to A&E when his hand began to swell.
"We as a family would like to thank everyone for their continued support, to the paramedics for their brilliant response and the NHS staff at Shrewsbury hospital for their care of my brother.
"Mainly we would like to thank 16-year-old Jordyn Dodd, who placed Tudor into the recovery position which prevented him from choking."
The extent of his injuries shocked but the 15-year-old's family and his friends.
"We would like to raise awareness that this level of injury has been caused by a teen falling off of his bike - something that can happen very easily.
"And, if children/young people are at the level of using bikes that they do stunts, they should wear a full-face helmet, not a peak helmet. This helps to protect their face.
"Tudor's impact has affected his confidence and his love of biking, something he had been doing daily for the last seven or eight years."
The family has also criticised young people who thought it was funny to take photographs of Tudor and post them on social media.
"This is unacceptable, they should run over and offer help, not photograph the victim of an accident."
