Not many people would expect to be competing in a triathlon just four months after a major road accident – but that’s exactly what Peter Gibson did with the help of Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham’s (QEHB) limb reconstruction team.

Fitness fanatic Peter feared he wouldn’t be able to exercise for months after suffering a broken neck, broken ribs, collapsed lung and broken leg when he was in collision with a car while out cycling on March 14 this year.

But remarkably the 55-year-old Sutton Coldfield businessman was coming ninth out of 42 competitors in the Walsall Supersprint Triathlon on July 12 - completing the 400m swim, 10km cycle ride and 2.5km run in a time of 51 minutes and nine seconds.

And Peter did the whole thing with a metal Taylor spatial frame supporting his lower left leg while his broken tibia (shin bone) continued to heal.

The frame was fitted at QEHB after Peter was transferred to the major trauma unit from Walsall Manor Hospital, where he was taken following his accident.

Peter opted for the frame, rather than a plaster cast or having the bone pinned, because it would allow him to keep his mobility. He has been supported by QEHB physiotherapists as he sought to maintain a gruelling fitness regime during his recovery.

By the start of April he was using an exercise bike at home while wearing a brace to support the broken vertebra in his neck and as soon as that came off he started swimming.

Then, after testing his leg out with a 1.5km run on the QEHB treadmill, he was cleared to enter the Walsall Triathlon, completing the half-distance Supersprint event.

“I asked Mark (Raven, Senior Physiotherapist) about competing and he was fully in favour and offered to write a letter to support my entry,” said Peter.

“Running with the frame was a little uncomfortable, a bit like running with permanent shin splints, but it wasn’t so painful that I was limping or having to stop.

“There were some raised eyebrows when I stood on the start line - but at the end people were shaking my hand saying, ‘Crikey, you shot past me!’

“Living with the injury isn’t brilliant, but at least with this type of frame you’ve got some freedom and a better quality of life while the break heals.”

Mark Raven said: “The Taylor spatial frame is perfect for patients like Peter, who are keen to stay as active as they can during their rehabilitation.

“But they are also used a lot with complex fractures, where it is important that patients keep their mobility while bones are supported over a prolonged healing process.

“It’s great to see what Peter has achieved. He has been an inspiration to other patients in his physio group, who were all rooting for him in the triathlon and couldn’t wait to hear how he had got on the week after.”