AN Alton man narrowly escaped being decapitated last week after he rode full force into a vine that he says had been deliberately tied across a bridlepath at neck height.

Paul Morrison, 45, a family man with a passion for mountain biking, was following a regular route through Chawton Park Woods last Thursday when he almost had his windpipe severed.

He had ridden into the woods just over an hour earlier and was on the downhill when he road full tilt into the vine.

For full story, see this week's Alton Herald.