Former soldier hit by car in Northumberland while going out to celebrate being cancer-free
Neil Harmer suffered a devastating knee injury after being hit while crossing the road to meet family and friends in Pegswood
by Simon Lennon, Kali Lindsay · ChronicleLiveA former Army Sergeant had his knee mangled after being hit by a car while going out to celebrate being cancer-free.
Neil Harmer - who served tours of Iraq and Afghanistan - was having a rare night out after spending six months being treated for groin cancer. But before he reached his local social club in Pegswood he was mown down as he crossed the road outside.
He spent the next year recovering after surgery to repair snapped ligaments. But despite his misfortune, Neil, 46, says it’s all part of the tapestry of life and wouldn’t change a thing.
Neil - who trains up specialist vehicle engineers across the North East - said: “Don’t get me wrong. This has been a mountain to get over. It’s been a really hard battle.
"I have seen a lot of horrible things in the army but this has affected me far worse mentally. Just when I had beaten cancer this happened. I know most people would have just given up, but I wouldn’t change a thing as it’s part of life’s journey.
"And it has led me to today where I have a great job, life and family.”
Neil, from Pegswood, Northumberland had spent months being treated with blasts of radiotherapy at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital for an aggressive form of cancer.
Neil said: “I had an operation to remove the cancerous tumour and then they blasted it with radiation. It was exhausting. But I was relieved when they said it had finally gone and was ready for a drink.”
After docs gave him the all-clear in March 2022, he decided to meet friends and his fiancée Caroline at his local Pegswood Social Club to celebrate, but as he crossed, a car ploughed into him.
He said: “I was shocked. I was in so much pain."
He was fitted with a knee brace and medics at Cramlington Hospital later revealed he had snapped his AC and MCL ligaments and required surgery.
He added: “It was devastating news. Especially after just getting the all clear from cancer. It was the first time I was nearly mentally broken. I had never felt so down. I just thought what next?”
Neil spent the next three months bed bound with his fiancée caring for him.
He said: “It was horrendous. If I hadn’t had my career in the army and the mental strength I don’t know what I would have done.
"I couldn’t do anything and at one point I was even considering splitting with my fiancée because I felt so guilty for having her do everything for me. I felt helpless, just like a toddler. I had always been independent, and it was really hard.”
But this wasn’t the first battle Neil had faced.
He spent 20 years in the Royal Logistics Core with Tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a supply specialist between 1992 and 2012.
During a tour of Afghanistan in Helmand province - where he helped recover vehicles blown up by IEDs - he badly injured his back while manning a Sanger desert fort gun tower and had to be medically evacuated.
And after emergency surgery he spent 18 months recovering and learning to walk again with support from his regiment and Help for Heroes before leaving the army.
But in 2021 he faced his biggest battle yet when diagnosed with aggressive groin cancer requiring intense bouts of radiotherapy.
Father-of-two Neil - whose children are from a previous relationship- added: “Thankfully my bosses at Vertu Motors were brilliant and supported me throughout my recovery even promoting me to make my life easier.
“Now I have my dream job as a manager training the next generation of engineers.”
Doctors have since told him after his latest bout of medical treatment that he has arthritis in his knee and will need to have his knee replaced and faces two further revision ops.
He added: “The doctor told me that I would have the symptoms for the rest of my life and my knee will be knackered again. Now my other knee is playing up as well.”
Neil added: “I will face the future with positivity. You only get one life and you have to be happy and live it to the full.”
Facing the prospect of further knee operations and growing NHS waiting lists, Neil decided to take legal action with motor accident specialists Express Solicitors.
Neil received a substantial £100,000 settlement with the help of his lawyer Daniel Jamieson who said: "Neil was celebrating being cancer-free when a speeding driver crushed his leg just crossing the street. People’s lives can change in an instant and this award will help him with further treatment and secure his family’s future."
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said no-one has been arrested in connection to the incident and enquiries are ongoing.
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