A biker nicknamed Superman after he fought back from a horror crash has returned to work.

Ashley Bowmer, 36, of Seaton, was critically injured when his Honda motorcycle was in collision with a car on the A595 at Beckermet on April 13.

He lost so much blood his wife Joanne, 33, was warned he might not survive an ambulance ride from Carlisle's Cumberland Infirmary to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

But he made it, having blood transfusions en route. And he continued to defy expectations, moving from the high dependency unit, and being discharged, far quicker than expected.

He was nicknamed Superman by hospital staff.

Now he is beginning a phased return to work as a maintenance team leader for Sellafield Ltd.

Mr Bowmer has put his recovery down to his determination and the support of family, friends and the community.

Mr and Mrs Bowmer were inundated with messages and support from far and wide.

He said: "It means a lot and it's played no small part in the process."

Mrs Bowmer, a conveyancer for Paisleys Solicitors, said the couple had had great support from their employers and the children's schools.

She added: "I honestly don't think I would have coped as well without the support we have had."

Talking about the crash aftermath, Mr Bowmer said: "I thought everything was a dream until one of the paramedics gave us a stern talking to and said it wasn't.

"I remember having feet around my head, and people's faces coming into focus and going out of focus. I've never been so thirsty."

The first policeman on the scene had served alongside Mr Bowmer in the Territorial Army. He contacted Mrs Bowmer, who headed to Carlisle to meet her husband.

Mr Bowmer said: "I heard Jo's voice and I told her off because she was standing on the wrong side and I couldn't see out of that eye. I was terrified. I knew I was in a bad way."

His injuries included damage to his neck, arms, hands and bowel, and a broken pelvis, hip and eye socket. He spent days flat and immobilised, before being allowed to tilt, bend and eventually sit. He initially had metal cages on his arms.

Doctors expected him to spend weeks in HDU before moving to intensive care then a trauma ward. A three-month hospital stay was predicted.

But Mr Bowmer defied expectations, brushing his own teeth within days.

His efforts prompted doctors to move him straight to the trauma unit after just four days which, for Mrs Bowmer, marked a turning point.

She said: "On the HDU people were dying. When they were happy to send him to another ward I thought 'he's going to be alright'."

He was discharged from hospital four weeks after the crash, initially staying in a flat in Newcastle.

He spent eight weeks in a neck brace and initially used a wheelchair but was soon back walking.

He said: "You can't really believe that it's all happened. Then I'll try to do something and it will hurt and I'll realise."

Paramedics told Mrs Bowmer the quality of her husband's biking clothes saved him.

Mr Bowmer said: "I didn't always have that gear. For a long time I only had old stuff.

"I'd say if you can afford good gear, buy it, and if you've got it, wear it."

In June, Mr Bowmer made a weekend visit home, coinciding with Seaton Carnival, and walked behind his children's float as far as the Pack Horse.

He said: "It was overwhelming because so many people were asking how I was."

He returned home for good soon afterwards and, since getting back on his feet, has been keen to return to work, which he sees as a kind of closing point of his accident journey.

But Mrs Bowmer is keen for him not to be too ambitious.

She said: "He's done amazing but I do think maybe he needs to go a little bit slower.

"It almost doesn't feel real. To be told he wasn't going to make it to Newcastle, then to see him five months later, you wouldn't know what he'd been through."