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A cyclist said he was nearly 'beheaded' after he hit barbed wire which had been stretched across a bike path.

Mountain bike guide Ben Threlfall was taking a group of six clients along a forestry trail on Saturday.

The 31-year-old, who owns the Afan Valley Bike Shed , was leading the group downhill when he struck the barbed wire, which had been strung across the trail between two trees.

The impact of the collision threw him from his bike and Ben had to physically unwrap the barbed wire from around his throat after it cut across his chest and shoulders before sliding up to his neck.

The incident happened on a forestry trail on the Mynydd Ton in Ton Pentre, Rhondda.

"I was riding on Saturday in the Ton Pentre area, down a trail I've ridden many times, and was almost beheaded by barbed wire strung up across the trail between two trees," he said.

"We were on a downhill part of the trail where riders usually pick up a lot of momentum and speed. I was probably going at around 30kmh when I struck the barbed wire.

"It wasn't a slow impact, I hit it hard - so hard that the barbed wire snapped.

"Luckily I'm a big bloke - I'm 6ft 3ins, so it cut across my chest and shoulders first, before sliding up to my neck and wrapping around my throat.

"It threw me off my bike and I honestly thought that my head was going to fall off. I thought 'this is the point where I'm going to die'.

"I was really, really lucky - I've been left with a couple of cuts, bruises and some soreness.

"If that had happened to someone smaller or lighter, the barbed wire wouldn't have snapped and it would have taken their heads off their shoulders.

"No doubt they would have died.

"It also happened in a quiet area of forestry, so if it had been worse, emergency services would have struggled to get there in time.

"I'd love to meet the person who did this and ask them why. What was going through their heads when they decided to put something as extreme as barbed wire across a track?

"Another rider told me they had found nails stuck in the ground in the same area.

"Whoever is doing this, obviously wants to stop us from using the track."

A spokeswoman for Rhondda Cynon Taf Council said: “The council is concerned to hear about this issue and the threat it presents to mountain bikers, dog walkers and horse-riders. It thanks the rider for bringing this to the attention of the community.

“All public paths, bridleways and trails in Rhondda Cynon Taf are checked and maintained on a regular basis, as part of the Council’s work to ensure people can enjoy open spaces and public rights of way safely.”

A spokeswoman for South Wales Police said: “We have received a report of barbed wire being in Mynydd Ton Forest and are working with our partners to investigate this.

“We would ask mountain bikers to be aware of this incident and anyone with information is asked to contact South Wales Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

Gareth Roberts, Local Area Manager for Natural Resources Wales (NRW), said: “Sabotaging woodlands is incredibly dangerous and puts people at risk. If anyone sees evidence of dangerous behaviour or activity please contact the police to report it.”

“Mountain biking is a great way to enjoy the outdoors, and get healthy in our forests.

“Although people are free to ride the natural land form through the trees, we’ve constructed over 200km of trails in the woodlands in south east Wales for people to go walking, running and mountain biking.

“These trails are safe to use and maintained to a national standard, so we encourage people to use them.”

Video: Blade, the mountain biking trail at Glyncorrwg