Police in Nottingham have issued a witness appeal after a female cyclist died following a collision with an HGV in the city centre yesterday morning.

Police were called to Lower Parliament Street, Nottingham — a four-lane one-way street which appears to have no provision for cycling — at its junction with Pennyfoot Street and Fisher Gate, at around 8.30am yesterday, Thursday July 3.

The rider, who has not been named, was taken to the city’s Queen’s Medical Centre with critical injures but was subsequently pronounced dead.

Eyewitness Judith Birkett, 78, told the Nottingham Post: "I was behind the Greene King lorry. It was like it happened in slow motion and it sort of hung in the air.

"I was so shocked and I think I actually screamed. It was horrible. Somebody dashed across the road to help the cyclist."

Birkett, who runs the Castle pub on Lower Parliament Street, was in her car on the way to Colwick Park when she saw the collision.

 

"It's a terrible junction because people aren't always aware that there's traffic coming round the corner from Parliament Street," she said.

"I've been here 17 years and have seen some horrendous misses."

The male driver of the Greene King HGV was treated at the scene for minor injuries. The company said it was working with the police to investigae the collision and offered its condolences to the victim's family.

Nottinghamshire police request that anyone who saw the incident or has any information contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers on  0800 555 111, citing Incident Number 000138-03072014.

In January, Nottingham council announced it planned a to spend £600,000 improving two other dangerous junctions to make them safer for cyclists. 

After seven cyclists died on the area's roads in 2012, Nottingham councillors and MPs lobbied Parliament to force cyclists to wear helmets and to ban BMX bikes from being used on the roads.