A cyclist was having surgery in hospital today after her foot was crushed beneath the wheels of a waste disposal wagon in the centre of York.

Injured cyclist Madeleine Chadwick lies in the road at the junction of Holgate Road and Blossom Street in York today after she became trapped under a bin lorry and her foot was crushed

Madeleine Chadwick, 44, was on her cycle at the junction of Blossom Street and Holgate Road when the accident took place.

Eye-witness Kay Farrow administered first aid with the help of another witness before the emergency services arrived.

Mrs Farrow was driving behind the waste disposal truck at the time of the accident.

Mrs Farrow said: "We were just going round the corner and the cyclist was dragged under the lorry. The bike disappeared underneath the lorry.

"Luckily she just had the sense to roll outwards otherwise the back wheel would have gone right over her. She's really, really lucky."

Mrs Farrow and a man helped comfort Mrs Chadwick and raised her injured leg.

Mrs Farrow, an occupational therapist who was on her way to work, said she tried to minimise the Mrs Chadwick's shock while they waited for the ambulance to arrive.

Someone took Mrs Chadwick's telephone number and her husband's name to inform him of the accident.

Ambulance service spokesman Nigel Metcalfe said a doctor from a local practice administered painkillers while paramedics gave her oxygen.

"The woman's foot was under the wagon but she began to regain consciousness before she was taken to hospital," he said.

The woman, who has very serious foot and leg injuries, was taken to York District Hospital with the driver of the Cleanaway Waste Services wagon, who was suffering from shock.

A hospital spokesman said this afternoon that Mrs Chadwick, from the Woodthorpe area of York, was undergoing surgery and was in a poorly condition.

A spokesman for Cleanaway Ltd said the company was carrying out an investigation into the cause of the accident and had sent representatives to York.

"We are waiting to hear from the police and have sent someone to the hospital to speak to the driver," he said.

"At the moment we do not really know what happened and are waiting for information to come in."

Sergeant Nigel Atkinson, of North Yorkshire traffic police, issued a warning to both lorry drivers and cyclists following the accident.

"We would ask all road users, but particularly the drivers of heavy goods vehicles and cyclists, to be aware of the dangers of lorries turning left at junctions," he said.

"We have a pattern of accidents of this sort happening in recent years."

Mary Simpson, who lives only a street away from the junction, said local people were concerned about its safety.

"An elderly lady was killed there about 18 months ago," she said.

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