A 14-YEAR-old boy could have died after sliding down a Bewdley road "on his face", when his bike hit one of a set of controversial speed bumps, claims his furious father.PP:50bike.jpg:angry father Gary Hodgkins said the crash took apart Nick's bike.

Nick Hodgkins spent three days in hospital and needed surgery to get the grit out of his face after the accident which his dad blames on a newly-installed speed hump.

Angry Gary Hodgkins, 42, is seeking compensation from Worcestershire County Council which has been building the "traffic calming" measures at the Queensway estate, Wribbenhall, since September.

He said the height of the hump caused the accident - echoing fears aired in the Shuttle/Times & News by residents and councillors.

"When Nick came down Cordle Marsh Road his bike hit the lip," Mr Hodgkins said.

"His front wheel came out and he hit his head, knocked himself out and went down the road on his face."

He added: "You just could not see the lip of the speed hump; my son said he didn't see it until the last minute when it was too late.

"They are all dangerous, they are disgraceful, especially the one where my son had his accident."

Nick - who lives a street away from the scene of the smash in Damson Way - was left in "a right mess" and needed three stitches to his lip.

"Someone has got to be responsible - he could have been killed," added his father.

The speed humps have been laid on seven roads but a row broke out as the work neared completion last month with the leader of Wyre Forest District Council Howard Martin calling it "the worst piece of road calming I have ever seen".

Both district councillors for the ward also said they had received complaints from residents about the humps.

A spokesman for Worcestershire County Council said: "We have received Mr Hodgkins' representations and the matter will now be passed on to our insurers. We will deal with it in due course."