Sir Richard Branson was almost killed while riding his bicycle in the British Virgin Islands earlier this week, it has emerged, with the Virgin-owner saying that his “life flashed before [him]” as his bike was thrown over a cliff.

Branson is a renowned kitesurfing enthusiast, regularly riding on his privately-owned Necker Island, but while he’s never had much trouble on the water, the Virgin boss was not so lucky on two wheels.

Writing on Virgin.com, the billionaire said: “A couple of nights ago I went cycling on Virgin Gorda with Holly and Sam [his children] as part of my training for the Virgin Strive Challenge,” which will the three family members aiming to raise £1.5 million for charity, running, cycling and swimming over 2000km from the Matterhorn to Mt Etna.

“I was heading down a hill towards Leverick Bay when it suddenly got really dark and I managed to hit a ‘sleeping policeman’ hump in the road head on. The next thing I knew, I was being hurled over the handlebars and my life was literally flashing before my eyes.