An Albion fan injured in a hit-and- run incident at the Second Division play-off final said today he was lucky to be alive.

Policeman Paul Haywood suffered a fractured skull when he was knocked down by a motorcyclist outside the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff after the Seagulls' 1-0 triumph over Bristol City last month.

His left foot and ankle and right forearm were also smashed and he spent three weeks in hospital in the Welsh capital before being transferred to Southlands Hospital, Shoreham, this week.

Mr Haywood, 31, from Findon Valley, Worthing, now faces six months of operations and physiotherapy.

But the detective constable is glad he is still alive for his wife Sarah, 34, and daughters Katie Elizabeth Zamora, two - named after the former Albion striker Bobby - and Nancy, one.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he said: "I know I'm lucky to be alive, whatever happens.

"I've tried not to get despondent. There's no use me getting annoyed.

"Underlying all this is the fact I'm still here, my children have got a dad, my wife has got a husband and it could so easily have been worse. I could have had brain damage."

In the past three weeks Mr Haywood has battled through three operations at University of Wales Hospital.

He had to remain conscious during surgery on his ankle because his fractured skull meant it would be too dangerous for him to be given a general anaesthetic.

Mr Haywood, who has supported Brighton and Hove Albion since he was eight, said: "The ankle operation was a bizarre thing.

"I had to have an epidural, like they give to pregnant women.

"I could feel the doctors moving the bones but could not feel the pain of it. It was a very strange experience."

He believes he could have lost a limb if it had not been for a passing off-duty paramedic who snapped his ankle back into place straight after the crash.

Mr Haywood said: "I've learnt when you get a bone protruding from the body like mine was, it needs to be kept straight.

"The limb can be losing oxygen when it's so badly broken and that could result in amputation."

Barring any major infection in his wounds, Mr Haywood, who is a keen cyclist and hiker, is expected to make a full recovery.

Aside from not having missed a European Championship football match thanks to a television provided by nurses, his spirits have been lifted by dozens of get well soon cards from his family and friends and Albion chairman Dick Knight, alongside a signed shirt from his beloved team.

The crash happened as he walked along Herbert Road in Cardiff as jubilant fans left the ground at 5.40pm on May 30.

Mr Haywood said: "We watched the match and everything was brilliant. We walked back out and went through the city centre.

"I was crossing a road, which is straight for 60 yards then bends round to the right.

"From the kerb I heard a motorcycle because it was revving quite loudly.

"I looked to the right and saw it coming round the bend.

"It was quite fast but I only had five yards to the island in the middle of the road so I quickened my pace.

"Within a second it was on me. It was two yards away and was not braking.

"One second he was 60 yards away, then the bike's engine was so loud. I had a split second and I tried to jump.

"It hit my body and I flew up in the air.

"It was only when I landed that I realised my arm and ankle were hurt."

The impact left his ankle pointing the wrong way.

He believed his arm was broken and his skull fractured when he hit the floor.

His friend and fellow supporter Bruce Low said he had just managed to step out of the way of the biker.

Visiting Mr Haywood at Southlands, Mr Low, from Brighton, said: "He was thrown ten to 15ft - it was a hell of a way.

"His ankle was the wrong way round. I stupidly said, 'Are you all right, mate?'."

Mr Haywood said: "I could not hear anything. People were all around me and I could see they were really trying to speak to me and I could not hear a word.

"All I thought about was keeping still and trying to keep my breathing slow."

When his wife heard about the crash she rushed to her husband's bedside.

Mrs Haywood had queued for hours to get her husband tickets for the play-off final.

Mr Haywood, who works in Sussex Police's child protection unit, said: "Sarah came that night, just before my first operation.

"It was fantastic to see her.

"I did not expect to see her and thought she'd come across in the morning because she had to arrange childcare for the kids.

"Luckily, we've got supportive families on both sides."

Mrs Haywood has since juggled caring for their daughters with visiting.

He said: "It's hard enough bringing up two young children when you're fit and active.

"Sarah has been on her own but has gone above all my expectations - that's why I married her.

"She has been keeping it together and it gets emotional seeing someone go through what I have and then going back and bringing up two kids."

Mrs Haywood was relieved at not having to drive to Cardiff any more after her husband was transferred to Southlands on Monday.

She said: "The children saw him on Monday night and they had not seen him for a week.

"The girls really, really missed him. They both went mad when they saw him.

"Paul's so much better in himself now.

"I cannot wait to get back together as a family.

"Our first anniversary is in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping he'll be out of hospital by then."

South Wales Police are investigating the incident but have not been able to track down the motorbike rider.