A Bradford firefighter has suffered serious injuries after a colliding with a car while cycling near a Yorkshire Dales village on the Tour de France’s opening stage route.

The 48-year-old officer was on a mountain bike and riding with friends and colleagues from the Leeds Road central station near Bainbridge in Wensleydale on Saturday, when he collided with a silver Vauxhall Corsa shortly after 2pm.

The Great North Air Ambulance (GNNA) anaesthetised the man at the scene before he was taken to the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, for treatment for severe spinal, pelvic, chest and internal injuries. A GNNA spokesman said the firefighter was in a stable condition.

North Yorkshire Police closed the lane, which links Wharfedale and Wensleydale, for several hours and launched an investigation into the incident.

A spokesman at the city centre fire station confirmed the report and said: “Our thoughts are with the officer and his family at this difficult time.”