A motorcyclist who spent two weeks in intensive care after colliding with a car has been sent a bill for £505.34 for the use of four road-closure signs, five diversion signs, 16 road cones and seven sandbags.

The bill was sent to Alex Hall, 23, by Devon County Council, the highways authority, two years after the accident in April 2007, in which Mr Hall suffered serious head injuries.

He had already pleaded guilty to careless driving, been fined £140 plus costs including £240 for “clean-up and recovery” and had five points put on his licence.

The council says it is using discretionary powers granted by the Highways Act to recover costs. It claims that such recovery is “standard practice”, although the Institute of Advanced Motorists says it has never come across it before.

Mr Hall, an aircraft engineer for Flybe, the airline, said: “I can’t quite believe it. I thought all the expenses I’d already paid two years ago would mean an end to this horrid ordeal.

“It is a ridiculous saga and it’s causing me further trauma . . . £505 is a huge amount of money for me. I have just recently finished an apprenticeship in aircraft engineering and I’ve not been earning much money, so to me every penny counts.”

Mr Hall said the county council’s bill was not covered by his third-party insurance policy and that he would agree, reluctantly, to pay it in instalments.

A Devon County Council spokesman said: “It’s not the first time we’ve recovered costs of remedial work from a motorist. Councils are entitled to recover the costs of remedial works from any person responsible for damage, spillage or debris on the highway. This is in accordance with the Highways Act 1980.

“The invoice to Mr Hall was delayed as he had been seriously injured but he was notified on September 2, 2008, that there would be a financial charge. An invoice was processed on December 19, 2008, and he has since been offered the option of paying by direct debit, but to date we have not received a reply.”

The accident happened when Mr Hall overtook a silver Mercedes car near the entrance to Powderham Castle. He was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital after crashing into the car and bouncing into a Ford Fiesta travelling in the opposite direction.