A SKATEBOARDER wants to say thanks to a passer-by who helped save his life after he came off his board on Bournemouth’s Horseshoe Common.

Ironically, Matthew Ingle-Finch, from Parkstone in Poole, was on his way to buy travel insurance for a trip to Costa Rica.

He was knocked out, suffered heavy bleeding from a burst blood vessel in his ears and spent nine days in hospital including a spell in Southampton’s specialist neurological unit.

“I want to thank this person because they literally saved my life,” said Matthew, a barman at the Bricklayers Arms pub in Ashley Cross.

He suffered contusions – bruising on the brain – and also a brain haemorrhage and cannot remember the crash, but thinks he hit a lamppost.

He said the path was quite narrow and his skateboard needs a bit of room to manoeuvre and slow down.

The passer-by called the ambulance service and got help before he suffered more serious injury.

Matthew said: “It wasn’t so much that I was close to death, but I was on my own, in a quieter area, and without help there’s good chance I could have bled to death or suffered serious brain damage.”

Matthew, an openside flanker for Poole Rugby Club, had to delay his Costa Rica flight for two months because the changing air pressure could affect his brain injury.

The accident happened around lunchtime on Thursday, April 21.

He added: “I want to know exactly what his person did and what state I was in when they found me.

“I just want to thank this person, meet them for lunch and have a chat.”