Ben Fogle says he ‘nearly died’ in road accident after van narrowly avoids star and his dog on country lane at 60mph

BEN Fogle has revealed he “nearly died” in a road accident after a delivery van narrowly avoided him and his dog.

Presenter Ben, 50, who owns six pooches, detailed his near-death experience in an Instagram post this morning, explaining that the vehicle was travelling at 60mph on a country lane.

The adventurer told fans he’s concerned for his children’s safety and, despite efforts to push for a 20mph speed limit, his local council hasn’t acted.

He wrote in full, “I nearly died yesterday. Not on Everest or in some remote jungle. Not on an Ocean or in a desert, but on a small single track lane outside my home in rural Oxfordshire.

“Given the things I have done and the risks I have taken, it feels a little ironic that my own near death experience should happen so close to home. Let me explain…

“We live in a pretty little village outside of Henley. It is home to several hundred people. We have a church, a cricket field and a village green as well as a village hall.

“We used to have a village pub until it was bought by a developer, and then ‘mysteriously’ burnt down, and was raised to the ground within a day (sound familiar?) I digress.

“Ours is an idyllic little community with children, dogs, horses, farmers and a thriving social community.

“A single track road meanders through this happy little village. We have no pavements which means the road is our pavement, footpath and bridleway.

“We share it with cyclists, dogs, walkers, children, tractors, cars and delivery drivers. Incredibly. Almost unbelievably. It also happens to be the national speed limit.

“You can drive 60 miles an hour through the heart of our little village. You can drive at my daughter on her horse or the dogs on their walk at 60mph!!!!

“While my daughter rides her pony along the road because it is the only way to reach the fewer and fewer bridleways, delivery drivers race at the legal 60mph around blind bends to meet home delivery time targets.

“While my son cycles on his bike with the dogs, day visitors, blindly following sat nav and the 60mph speed limit career along the single track pavement, sorry road.

“The only way I can reach the limited footpaths is on the same single track road that I must share with 60mph delivery drivers Which brings me back to my near death experience…

“I was running along the road with my dog at my side. I don’t run along the road because I want to run on the road but most land is private. I run along the road because it is the only way to reach the fewer and fewer paths and bridleways.

“A delivery driver driving at the perfectly legal, but obviously dangerous 60mph, careered around one of the many blind bends, threw on its breaks and skidded to a halt just a few feet from me and my dog.

“My life flashed before my eyes. Just as it had done when my boat capsized on the Atlantic Ocean and when my oxygen bottle exploded on Everest, but this was on a dog walk outside my home.

“And now I imagine my children walking along the same pavement, sorry, road. I love living here in this rural idyllic, but I don’t want to die because our local council doesn’t see fit to implement a 20mph limit for a community that relies on the road as our pavement too.

“We have imposed the 20mph in places which already have pavements. I am a risk taker, so I don’t say this lightly. Someone is going to get killed in our village. Both of my children have had near encounters with speeding traffic.

“We are not alone. There are countless other small villages out there who also live with 60mph speed limits through the heart of their community. It is common sense. Our local councillor has tried to no avail. Please help us, before we lose someone.”

In his caption, he added how he’d published a letter in his local paper but was not happy with Buckinghamshire Council’s response.

A cabinet member for transport guidance had argued that speed limits are set against Department for Transport guidance and, in this case, was considered to be the national speed limit.

Ben concluded that he fears change won’t come into action until someone has to have a serious accident.

He directed fans to an e-petition in his bio, which has been signed by 1,089 people at the time of publication.

Ben, who currently resides in Fawley, was one of the original reality stars after rising to fame in the BBC show Castaway 2000.

It followed a group of people marooned on the Scottish island of Taransay for a year.

He’s since built up an incredible career, has an estimated net worth of £2.6m, and is even close friends with the Royal Family.

Ben married Marina Hunt, from Austria, who he met while walking his dog in Hyde Park. They have two children together.

Their first child, a boy named Ludovic Herbert Richard Fogle, was born in 2009. Their second child, a girl named Iona, was born in 2011.