Villagers launched a search party in the desperate hope of trying to find an elderly cyclist who was killed after being hit by a car.

David Prentice, 71, was named yesterday as the victim of a crash in The Street, Wormshill, near Sittingbourne, on Tuesday evening.

Police were called to the small village following the incident at around 5pm after reports of a collision involving a yellow Renault Scenic.

Two men from Sittingbourne, aged 35 and 55, were later arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. They have since been released on bail until Thursday, November 17.

Tributes poured in for the Cambridge-educated former farmer as it was revealed a group of villagers spent hours searching for Mr Prentice before he was found dead in a nearby field.

One man who was a friend and neighbour to Mr Prentice, and also ran the village farm, said: “It’s a tragedy. It’s a tragedy in the way that it happened.

“I was here until about 3.30am [on Wednesday]. The car literally went not through the hedge but jumping the hedge and landed on four wheels the other side.

‘It’s a tragedy. It’s a tragedy in the way it happened…’

“One of the villagers saw just after it happened but were unaware exactly what had happened and just saw the car in the field.

“We didn’t find David until about 8pm, because he was a creature of absolute habit and went for bike rides in the morning and late afternoon. He did it religiously every day of the year.

“So when he didn’t come home we were concerned and myself and some other spouses went out to try and find him – had he gone to hospital, had there been an ambulance? We just didn’t know.”

Mr Prentice had lived in Wormshill near Sittingbourne all his life and had worked on Yew Tree Farm which had been owned by his parents.

After his mother sold up, the family kept four farm cottages with Mr Prentice living in one called Barnfield House.

Valerie Hemsley-Flint, 75, who had known him since the pair went to primary school together, said: “It’s very sad. We all feel terrible.

“David went cycling every day, often at dusk. But he was always very careful and not reckless. He would use lights and a helmet and wore a hi-vis jacket with his name on it. But the lanes are very narrow around here.”

Mr Prentice, who never married, leaves twin sisters Jenny and Diana. His eldest sister Sarah died of cancer. They used to run the Horse Shoes pub in the village.

It is understood Mr Prentice went to Cambridge University but after getting a degree returned to work on the family farm to look after the cattle.

Miss Hemsley-Flint recalled: “He often got into mischief. He once knocked a policeman’s helmet off while on a student demonstration.

‘We didn’t find David until about 8pm, he was a creature of absolute habit and went for bike rides in the morning and late afternoon’

“He also lost his spectacles in the field once and all the village turned out to find them. He was very short-sighted.”

One woman, who lived near the Blacksmiths Arms pub, said: “He was such a lovely man. The whole village is devastated. It’s such a popular cycling route as well and has been made busier with the roads in Hollingbourne being shut.”

Another villager, who lives just off The Street, added: “It’s so tragic what’s happened. He was quite well-known and had a lot of family around here.

“We’ve not been here long but everyone’s been upset by what happened.”

Officers from the police’s serious collision investigation unit are appealing for anyone who has CCTV or dashcam footage, taken in the Wormshill area and surrounding villages, which might show the movements of the car or bicycle around the time of the collision.

Footage can be uploaded via an online portal here.

Witnesses can also call the SCIU appeal line 01622 798538, quoting reference AH/DH/116/22.