A rider was thrown head-first on to the road after a stray football hit his scooter.

Jamie Filan, 24, was making his way from work in Brighton to his home in Offington Drive, Worthing, when a football from Hove Lawns hit the front wheel of his 100cc Peugeot Speedfight.

The scooter somersaulted into the air and landed on his left arm, shattering it in two places.

He has called for a ban on football on the lawns and wants fences to be put up to protect motorists.

He said: "They have a green railing on the other side to stop the balls going on the beach so I don't understand why there's none on the side by the road, which is surely more important.

"It's about time the council did something because I'm not the only one to have suffered. I'm angry because it could have been avoided and it shouldn't have happened."

Police told Mr Filan, a marketing consultant, his accident on Tuesday evening was the latest in a string of similar incidents.

He was expected to be discharged from the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton at the weekend following two gruelling operations to save his arm.

He has been told he will need extensive physiotherapy, meaning he has been forced to give up a coaching position with a toddlers' football team, which was due to start next month.

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said there was a similar motorbike accident at Hove Lawns last year and complaints from cyclists and pedestrians last summer had been repeated this year.

A council spokesman said there was no ban at the moment but the situation was being considered, with the bylaws currently under review.

He said: "We're very sorry to hear about this accident and wish the motorcyclist a speedy recovery.

"A number of residents have expressed concern to us about football being played on Hove Lawns, regarding safety, the state of the grass and people's peaceful enjoyment of the open space being impaired.

"We take these concerns very seriously.

"We will look very carefully at any submissions the emergency services may wish to make on this issue.

"Any proposals we may make on this will be subject to public consultation before a final decision is made and any changes would need to be ratified by the Home Office so at the moment it's too early to say whether our review will result in a football ban on Hove Lawns."