A features writer at a daily newspaper was left injured after hitting a patch of ice while out cycling.

Brian Beacom, a senior features writer at The Herald in Glasgow, ended up in hospital on Saturday with a dislocated collar bone, crushed lung and torn ligaments in my shoulder.

He was cycling on a track near his home when he hit the ice and his bike ended up on top of him.

He managed to push the bike back home and then went to Accident and Emergency at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, where he discovered the extent of his injuries.

Brian has written a piece about his accident, warning readers that the weather could be “hugely deceptive”.

He wrote: “The weather looked its normal bleak grey wet weather. It was just what you expect when you go cycling in Scotland. But sadly that did not prove to be the case.

“In taking the corner towards the Kilmacolm to Bridge of Weir cycle track near my home at my usual cautious 20 mph on Saturday, an elderly man on the cycle track raised his arm to me.

“I assumed that he was waving and making a friendly gesture. This wasn’t to be the case. A split second later, he shouted ‘stop!’ It was too late.

“My back wheel spun away from me and the next thing I knew, I was hurtling to the ground and ended up dazed, with the bike lying on top of me.

“I felt like someone had taken an 18lb weight to my shoulder. I knew that I was in trouble.”

Brian said the elderly man had braved the ice and tried to lift him up, at which point he had screamed, but once the adrenaline had kicked in, he managed to stand up and walk home.

He praised the staff at the hospital who treated him for his injuries.

Added Brian: “The moral of my story is not to assume because there’s no white frost on the ground there’s no ice on cycle tracks.

“The best advice is to walk cautiously as the weather can be hugely deceptive – as I have learned to my cost.”