Dan Walker has updated fans following his terrifying accident yesterday, which left him with a battered and bloodied face – and unintentionally sparked a fierce debate on Twitter.
The broadcaster was knocked off his bike by a car yesterday, saying that he was ‘glad to be alive’.
He had shared a series of photos from the back of an ambulance showing a swollen ‘mess’ of a face, and thanked the emergency service workers who came to his aid.
Dan has now updated his followers on his condition, confirming that he made it out of the accident with no broken bones but also ‘no memory of anything’.
He detailed how he came round on the tarmac already being tended to by paramedics and police, again thanking by name those who helped him.
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But what he probably didn’t count on is a fierce debate erupting in his replies on Twitter, all about how essential bicycle helmets actually are.
Dan wrote: “The helmet I was wearing saved my life today so – if you’re on a bike – get one on your head. Smashed my watch & phone, ruined my trousers, my bike is a mess but I’m still here.”
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He’s now had hundreds of replies from people, many trying to argue against whether helmets do actually save lives – which seems a weird thing to do to someone who literally could have died without his.
And while no one is denying that better cycling infrastructure is essential and should be taken seriously, there’s no denying that Dan would’ve been in a much worse state without his safety gear.
One person wrote: “I’m glad you’re ok and know you’ll get this same message six ways to Sunday, but this is not the moment to call for people to wear a plastic hat. I don’t want to let my kids cycle if they have to rely on a bit of foam to not be dead. Instead I want us to reduce road danger.”
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Someone else said: “I’m afraid it’s extremely unlikely your helmet saved your life, Dan. They can’t even prevent concussion, are not designed for collisions involving motor vehicles, and can absorb at most 75J when it takes 1000J to fracture the average skull.”
Dan Walker after his accident. Credit: Twitter @mrdanwalkerDan Walker after his accident. Credit: Twitter @mrdanwalker
Dan then tried to nip the bickering about helmets in the bud, saying: “I understand this is a contentious issue and I don’t want an argument about it. I’m just happy mine worked today and the police officer at the scene called me this afternoon and said I would not be here now if I wasn’t wearing one.”
Someone then replied: “It’s contentious because it defects attention from the real cause of most cycling accidents – the lack of safe cycle infrastructure & decades of politicians doing nothing to improve road safety. P.s. I’m sure your “gorgeous” nurses would prefer the accident didn’t happen at all.”
But hundreds more have defended cycling helmets, sharing their own tales of near misses where their helmets took the brunt of an accident rather than their skulls.
Dan’s full update said: “Blown away by all the lovely messages. Thank you. Just got home from hospital. Battered and bruised but – amazingly – nothing broken. Very thankful to still be here. I have no memory of anything and just remember coming round on the tarmac with paramedics & police around me.
“Thanks for all your kindness. Jamie & Shaun were so great in the ambulance – not sure I was making much sense. Thanks to Conor the copper, Charlotte in x-ray & Hannah (below) for being so considerate & brilliant in such a busy A & E
“The helmet I was wearing saved my life today so – if you’re on a bike – get one on your head. Smashed my watch & phone, ruined my trousers, my bike is a mess but I’m still here.
“Currently eating soup through a straw and being looked after by this gorgeous, tired nurse.”
Get well soon Dan!
Featured image: Twitter, @mrdanwalker
News
New endometriosis pill helping hundreds of women with ‘debilitating’ condition to be made available on NHS
Emily Sergeant
A groundbreaking new pill to help women with a ‘debilitating’ condition is set to be made available on the NHS.
The new daily pill for endometriosis – which has been approved for use on the NHS in England by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) – is called linzagolix, and will be available for those who have had previous treatment for endometriosis, working to manage any symptoms they may be experiencing.
Around 1.5 million women in the UK are thought to be currently living with endometriosis.
Endometriosis can cause chronic pain, heavy periods, and extreme tiredness when tissue similar to the womb lining grows elsewhere in the body.
A new daily pill for endometriosis has been approved for use on the NHS, and could help over a thousand women in England every year manage the symptoms of the debilitating condition.
As mentioned, linzagolix will be available specifically for patients whose previous medical or surgical treatments for endometriosis have been unsuccessful, and will be given alongside ‘add-back’ hormone therapy – which involves using low-dose hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to prevent menopause-like symptoms and bone loss.
This is the second take-at-home treatment to be approved to treat endometriosis on the NHS, and it’s thought that more than 1,000 women will benefit.
In clinical trials, linzagolix was shown to be successful in reducing painful periods and non-menstrual pelvic pain, compared with placebo, hence why it has been approved on the NHS by NICE.
“This is welcome news for women with endometriosis who haven’t found relief from previous therapies or surgery,” commented Dr Sue Mann, who is the National Clinical Director in Women’s Health for NHS England.
“It’s another treatment option which will help women take control of their health and better manage the symptoms of this often painful and debilitating condition.
“This is a testament to our ongoing commitment to improving treatment, care and quality of life for women.”
Featured Image – Heute
News
Wigan woman jailed after hitting pedestrian in Fiat 500 while driving high on nitrous oxide ‘balloons’
Emily Sergeant
A young woman from Wigan has been handed jail time after hitting a pedestrian while driving high on nitrous oxide.
Louisa Tunstall was driving a white Fiat 500 towards the East Lancashire Road in Wigan at around 7pm on Friday 24 May 2024 – a time when traffic conditions were said to be ‘quiet’ – but Tunstall was under the influence of a now-banned drug, nitrous oxide, at the time of the incident, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed.
While driving under the influence, 19-year-old Tunstall veered to the left onto the pavement and collided with a 51-year-old woman pedestrian.
After striking the woman, the car then overturned and, in the process, caused serious life-changing injuries.
When questioned by police, Tunstall stated that she ‘took her eyes off the road’ to retrieve something in the footwell before knowing the car had flipped, but she also confirmed that she had just been out to purchase nitrous oxide to use that evening.
After obtaining witness accounts, investigating officers were able to track down nearby CCTV footable which showed Tunstall inhaling nitrous oxide through a balloon whilst driving, seconds before the collision occurred.
#JAILED | It's not a laughing matter when you get behind the wheel under the influence of drugs.
Now Louisa Tunstall has to spend over a year behind bars after inhaling nitrous oxide and causing serious injury in #Wigan last year.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) May 14, 2025
Further investigation by GMP’s Forensic Vehicle Examination Unit examined the Fiat 500 and confirmed that no defects were found on the car to contribute towards the collision.
Still to this day, the victim says she is trying to recover from the injuries sustained to her leg that will prevent her from continuing life as she did before.
“The incident is still very raw when I think about it,” the victim explained in her impact statement released by GMP. “I become upset when I think at everything which has been taken away from me and the ongoing affect it has had and continues to have on my daily life.”
GMP says it’s seeing the use of nitrous oxide being a factor in incidents they attend increasing year on year.
Nitrous oxide, also known as ‘laughing gas’, is reported to produce euphoria, relaxation, dizziness, giggling or laughing fits, impaired judgement, and occasionally dissociation and hallucinations – which GMP says affects reaction time and and is ‘likely lead to impairment’ in driving performance, particularly when faced with an unexpected or hazardous situation.
Tunstall appeared at Bolton Crown Court this week, and has been sentenced to one year and eight months imprisonment for having possession of a Class C drug, driving under the influence of drugs, and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Alongside being jailed, she was also disqualified from driving for two years and eight months, and has been ordered to take an extended test when she is released.
Daisy Jackson -
21st February 2023 
