A GOOD Samaritan says he is lucky to be alive after he was mown down "like a bowling pin" as he tried to stop thieves in a getaway car.

Retired policeman's son Alex Neville-Payne, who suffered severe bruising in the incident, said he felt obliged to intervene when he saw thieves make off with two stolen bikes from one of his customers.

But the self-employed DPD delivery driver could lose hundreds of pounds in wages as his injuries are likely to keep him off work for up to three weeks.

Mr Neville-Payne, aged 27, of Queensway, Taunton, was on his rounds at Hankridge when he saw two members of staff from Halfords chasing after thieves who had stolen two bikes from the store.

He said: "I was in my van and saw them smashed a window in a car the thieves were in in the B&Q car park, which drove off, hitting another vehicle on the way.

"I blocked the road with my van by the bus stop and saw them heading up the wrong way, so I stood in the road to stop them as they went towards the roundabout - I wanted to do what I could to stop them getting away with it.

"They had eight to ten seconds to see me, but they didn't stop. They just mowed me down doing about 20 or 25mph, taking me out like a bowling pin.

"They showed no care for my life and I was very lucky because I was knocked to the ground.

"My injuries were a bruised leg, arm and hip, nothing life-threatening, but it could have been a lot worse."

Mr Neville-Payne, who believes there were three men in the getaway car, was tended by a first aider who happened to be at the scene and wrapped him in coats to keep him warm ahead of the arrival of police and an ambulance.

Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident - anyone with any information should contact Taunton Police on 101.

A Halfords spokeswoman said: "This is the subject of a police investigation so we can’t comment further but, needless to say, we are fully co-operating with authorities on their investigation.”