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A group of bystanders were hailed as heroes today after freeing a woman cyclist trapped under a car in east London.

A woman cyclist trapped under a car after a collision was freed by a group of 10 men who lifted the VW Golf off her and turned it on its side.

It gave paramedics waiting for the fire brigade immediate access to her following the accident in Spitalfields last night. Speaking from her hospital bed today, fashion photographer Claire Pepper, 27, said: “They saved my life.”

Motorists, witnesses and drivers from a nearby taxi firm joined forces to heave the car away. Ms Pepper, who has worked for Elle and Topshop, added: “I cannot thank them enough, I was super lucky, I could have died.”

One cyclist died today after being hit by a bus in Croydon. Another was hurt in a collision with a double decker on a cycle superhighway.

Ms Pepper was said to have been trapped by the head. She said the helmet she bought just two days ago was destroyed. She suffered concussion and a broken collarbone and cannot remember anything about the collision in Commercial Street.

She said: “The last thing I remember is cycling from work in Kingsland Road. I woke up at about 2am. If I had not been wearing my helmet I would have died.”

Among those who rushed to help her were taxi drivers from nearby firm Cityman. Ahmed Yusuf, 44, Shehryar Taj, 20, and two other drivers helped to hold up the VW Golf.

Mr Taj said: “We held the car up for as long as we could. The woman was unconscious and we were doing everything possible. We were glad we could help the poor woman. ”

The drivers said the car was very heavy and it took all their strength to hold it up. Mr Taj added: “We hope the woman recovers and we wish her the best. It was all very upsetting.”

Ambulance service duty officer Nick Osborne said: “Their quick-thinking actions enabled us to get treatment to her as soon as we got to the scene, which will have definitely helped her chances of survival.”

A security worker said: “The woman was stuck under the car and had her arms stretched out and looked in a bad way. A group of people were holding up the car. They were heroes.” Ms Pepper’s boyfriend, Jonathan Gales, 27, who was at her bedside at the Royal London, said: “She has pretty bad concussion but she is lucky to be alive.”

Mr Gales, who runs an animation company in Brixton, said the couple had just bought a flat in Brockley.

The cyclist who died, thought to be in his forties, suffered severe injuries in a collision with a bus in East Croydon at noon.

Shortly before 9am a 46-year-old man was in collision with a double decker as he rode along Cycle Superhighway 7 in Kennington. He suffered hand and knee injuries and was in a “serious but stable” condition.

The latest fatality brings the number of cyclists killed on London’s roads this year to 11. Francis Golding, 69, died on Friday, three days after being hit by a coach in Holborn.

He was a fellow at the Royal Institute of British Architects and former secretary of the Royal Fine Art Commission. The accident came only two hours after the death of Brian Holt, a porter at Mile End hospital, who was hit by a lorry on Mile End Road.