A MAN is fighting for his life after an horrific bicycle accident which saw onlookers rush to save him.

The man, in his twenties, landed on his head and fell unconscious in the Laindon Centre yesterday.

Two bystanders rushed to give the man CPR and witnesses said they brought him back to life before ambulance and air ambulance crews rushed to the scene to administer a defibrillator.

They took him to the Co-operative car park, when he stopped breathing twice more, before airlifting him to specialist brain injury hospital Royal London.

Linda Lane, 57, manager at the Haemlin Trust shop, said: "They must have been working on him for 45 minutes here, then I don’t know how long in the car park when he was moved closer to the ambulance.

“I heard paramedics say ‘he’s flat-lined’ three times.

The two ladies worked really hard on him. But I could see the breath go out of him, he was grey.”

It is thought the man had just had his hair cut and was cycling away through the centre at about 9.45am.

Mrs Lane said: “One of the ladies who gave first aid said she heard a bike stop behind her then heard a crack.

“One was giving him mouth-to- mouth and the other was giving him chest compressions.

I asked if they needed help, because they looked like they were getting tired, but they said they were OK.

“It was awful. Once he went to the ambulance they were in shock. They were distraught.”

Jacqui Newshan, manager of XS Stocks, said: “All was quiet and then this happened. I called the ambulance from here.

“It was very scary. The lady giving first aid was saying ‘I’m losing his pulse’, as a man was getting instructions from the 999 operator.

“There was a group of people all just standing there. It was like time stood still while everyone just hoped he would wake up.”

Police cordoned off the area and investigated the man’s fall.

Irene Valiquette, 58, who works at Fish’n’Chick’n said: “It has shaken the whole centre.

This is our little community.

It was horrible to see. We all hope he’s OK.”

Police have described the man’s condition as “serious”.