Sharon Anderson was first on the scene after Murray Fleming was in a collision with a Volkswagen Passat at Ashybank at 6.40pm.

And although she managed to stabilise him until paramedics arrived, the 25-year-old later died from his injuries at Borders General Hospital.

Speaking to the Hawick News, Sharon said: "I turned up just seconds after it happened and immediately I could see that he was missing his foot. He was unconscious so I took a moment to assess the situation and I released his haversack because the strap was across his neck and his nose. Once I'd done that it got him breathing again. Then I just stemmed the flow of blood on his severed limb."

Sharon, who was a firefighter for 10 years at Duns, but now owns Kelso Taxis, was travelling to Hawick at the time with a mini-bus full of customers heading for the bingo.



And while one person got out to direct traffic past the debris, Sharon admitted she couldn't believe the difficulty she had trying to get people to stop and help.

She added: "It was horrendous the amount of cars that went past and didn't stop. I was trying to flag people down but they were just flying by. It was just lucky that a couple of people did stop."

Sharon – who laid flowers at the scene this week with the message: "To Murray, love Sharon x" – was also helped by a nearby householder and several Denholm villagers, who had been made aware of the accident.

Mr Fleming, an IT worker from Greenlaw, was heading towards Denholm with a friend, who was also cycling, when the collision occurred.

A police spokesman said: "We are appealing for anybody who was on that road about that time who can remember seeing two cyclists heading towards Denholm, and in particular, a westbound vehicle which was travelling towards Hawick. The driver of this vehicle, who would have been aware of the collision, may be able to assist with the enquiry."

Anybody with any information should contact police on 0131 311 3131.