THE victim of a hit-and-run crash is appealing for help to find the “heartless driver” who left him lying injured in the middle of a Poole road.

Matthew Jenkins needed emergency surgery for facial injuries after being knocked off his mountain bike at Kimmeridge Avenue in the Rossmore area on Wednesday evening.

He said: “I nearly lost my left eye and needed 100 stitches for wounds which are going to leave me with permanent scars.

“I’m still in physical pain but the emotional trauma is much more distressing. I just can’t believe that someone could drive around me as I lay bleeding on the ground and then leave me lying there. It’s so heartless.”

The 24-year-old unemployed building site worker was cycling to his Tyneham Avenue home from a local shop when the accident happened.

He said: “I was crossing the road near the junction with Rossmore Road when I saw a black car coming towards me at speed.

“It didn’t stop at the junction and pulled out, knocking me off my bike. It looked like a new style Mini but I couldn’t see the driver’s face.

“I was confused and in agony; luckily people came to help me and called an ambulance. Otherwise I could have been run over by another car. The surgeons said I was lucky I hadn’t lost my left eye. I don’t feel lucky; I just want the person responsible to be caught.”

Matthew spent the night at Poole hospital before surgeons operated on his injuries.

He said: “I won’t know the extent of my scars or if my sight has been affected until the stitches are removed.

“It doesn’t seem right that the person who inflicted my injuries should get away with it. I could never live with my conscience, if I did such a terrible thing. I want to thank those people who came to my aid.”

A Dorset Police spokeswoman confirmed that officers had been called at around 5.25 pm following reports of a “fail to stop” accident. An investigation has been launched.