A moped rider is recovering in hospital after losing control of his bike in heavy rain.

Witnesses have described how the biker was travelling along Church Road in Hove when he spun around a number of times before falling to the ground and hitting his head.

Church Road was closed in both directions between Osborne Villas and Seafield Road for more than three hours following the incident shortly after noon.

Buses were forced to terminate their journeys and cars had to find alternative routes.

An air ambulance landed in the road outside Tesco.

A police source said they were investigating whether the rider, believed to be in his 40s, had hit another vehicle or lost control in heavy rain.

The patient was taken to Kings College Hospital in London, where last night he was critically ill with head injuries.

This morning police said he was still in a critical condition, but was now conscious and appeared to be recovering.

Anil Patel, 69, of Portslade, was the first person on the scene of the crash.

He described how he was sitting in his car when the motorcyclist hit a Mini Cooper in front of him.

He said: “His bike spun round and round and round and then he fell on the ground.

“He seemed to hit his chest and did not look well.

“The air ambulance arrived and he was lifted off.”

Another woman told how a queue of traffic then developed and a number of people raced towards the motorcyclist who was lying on the road beside his bike, which was on its side in the westbound carriageway.

A Sussex Police spokesman yesterday said: “At 12.05pm emergency services went to Church Road, Hove, at the junction with Osborne Villas, after a car and a moped had collided.

“The man who was riding the moped is being taken by air ambulance to Kings College Hospital with serious head injuries. Roads in the immediate vicinity are closed for the time being while the crash is investigated.”

Witnesses to the incident are asked to call Sussex Police on 101.