The parents of a Malmesbury teenager are seeking compensation after he was badly injured when he was thrown from his bike as he hit a pothole.

Ollie Pike, 15, from Chedglow, near Malmesbury, was bloodied, battered and bruised during the accident near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, earlier this month.

He was attempting to avoid a pothole when he hit another during a charity ride and was thrown from his bike.

His injuries included to his collarbone and he needed stitches to a wound above his eye.

There were also fears he had injured his spine but hospital tests allayed those worries.

Ollie said: "I was going down the hill at quite a leisurely pace.

"There were potholes on the side of the road and as I was avoiding those I just hit another one and went straight over the handlebars, landed on my face, cracked my helmet."

The teenager said that he was scared as he lay on the floor waiting for the ambulance to arrive following the crash on March 9.

"When I was on the floor waiting for the ambulance, I was scared because I couldn't see out of my right eye," he said.

"There was blood running down the road and I thought I'd done something to my eye, lost it or something like that."

His parents are seeking compensation from Gloucestershire County Council.

Ollie's mother, Louise, said: "I remember leaning down to Ollie and the first thing I did was take his hand but then realising I was kneeling in blood, like a river of blood going down the road - my son's blood - which was very scary.

"The fact as well that I couldn't actually see his right eye at all because it was completely closed and the swelling was very severe.

"Six stitches above his eyebrow, which was probably the most painful part for him. He was incredibly brave.

"The most reassuring part for me was when they brought Ollie through and he was sat upright and I knew his back was fine."

Mrs Pike added: "I hope I never have to see any of my four children in that situation again. It was fairly horrific and is your worst nightmare."

A Gloucestershire County Council spokeswoman said: "We aren't able to comment on individual cases, however we do respond to reported potholes and scheduled inspections of our roads.

"The busiest roads in the county are inspected at least every month and our priority is to fix unsafe potholes immediately while smaller potholes are programmed to be repaired within 28 days - in line with the national guidelines."