A man has spoken of his ordeal after he was pushed into the path of a car and fought a bike thief to stop him from stealing his £2,000 bike in Lowestoft.

Martin Cambridge, 26, from Lowestoft, said he was furious when his attacker pushed him off his bike into the path of cars after shouting at him to stop on Mr Cambridge's way home.

Mr Cambridge, who badly hurt his elbow in the incident, had his bike dragged away from underneath his body and he was powerless to watch as his assailant cycled away into Lowestoft Cemetery on his £2,000 bike.

He said: 'I was absolutely furious. I chased after and I saw him cutting across the road into a graveyard. I knew that there are only two ways out of there, either out the way you came or down some stairs.

'I sprinted all the way around to the stairs and saw him laying on the ground on my bike.

He added: 'When he was laying down he still had one hand on the front of the fork. I picked my bike up and leaned it on the end of the wall.

'He had both his hands on the middle of the stem, so I had to kick his hands away from the handlebars, and then as he was getting back up I punched him to stop him getting up because I didn't know if he had something in his pocket to defend himself with.'

That was the moment Mr Cambridge managed to escape on his reclaimed bike.

He said: 'I am quite relieved that I chased him as my bike is my baby. The bike normally is worth £2,000 and is fully carbon and has all the bells and whistles because I do a lot of long distance cycling.

However, Mr Cambridge is still nervous to get back out on his bike after the attacker spoke with unnerveing accuracy about his route to work.

He said: 'He knew the routes I take and it appeared to me that he wasn't walking any where so whether or not he knew my routes or whatever I am not certain but that was the impression.

'The impression I have got, he has obviously been planning to steal my bike for a while. You don't know who he has done this to before so I want some justice really. It is just not right to do this.

Police have appealed for witnesses to the incident, and are keen to speak to a dog walker who saw the tussle.

Anyone with information is asked to contact East CID at Lowestoft Police Station on 101 quoting reference 17811/18, or to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111