A Chessington man is in hospital after being involved in a road traffic accident during rush hour.

Michael “Alby” Miles, 60, who lives in a caravan in Chessington was hit in Hook Road outside the North Star pub on Tuesday evening at around 5.30pm.

He was taken to St George’s Hospital with head and leg injuries and was in a serious but stable condition as the Surrey Comet went to press.

It is not yet clear whether he was crossing or fell into the road. Friend Polly Bursby, who works at the Chessington Equestrian Centre, said: “One of my girls went up to see him and he has a broken leg and facial injuries.

“We are all wishing him a speedy recovery.”

Jim Taylor from Chessington Residents’ Association, said: “He is a character and a good handyman – a Chessington legend.”

The A243 Hook Road northbound was closed between Clayton Road and Somerset Avenue for three hours and opened at around 8.30pm in the evening.

Councillor Patricia Bamford said: “It is tragic something like this has happened in the days leading up to Christmas.

“There is no crossing there but there is one further up and one at the top.”

Transport for London has submitted proposals to improve a crossing outside the Hook Centre which is further down the road, and a new crossing will be put in by the junction with Elm Road.

Grandfather Mike Cowley, 73, a former school governor at Castle Hill Primary School and Chessington Community College, died when he was hit by a lorry while crossing Hook Road on December 12 in 2007, sparking calls for the new crossing.