BRICKS falling into Botley Road from a crumbling wall are an accident waiting to happen, an Oxford cyclist has warned.

Helen Haines raised the alarm this week after she narrowly avoided an accident herself opposite Oxford station.

The bricks are falling out of a wall which supports the footpath on the opposite side of the road from the station.

Ms Haines, who lives in Oatlands Road off Botley Road, said she was scared a cyclist would be killed if they hit one of the bricks and came off their bike.

The retired psychiatric nurse said: “There are loose bricks in the cycle lane and on top of the wall.

“If anyone died it would be terrible.

“I’m a cyclist and we all know what the roads are like, it’s so dangerous on Botley Road and everywhere in the city – we need to look out for each other.”

Ms Haines, 66, said she cycles into the city centre most days and was constantly raising the alarm about safety issues.

Recently she said she flagged up flooded drains with West Oxford city councillor Susanna Pressel to get them cleared.

When she saw the loose bricks opposite the station she said she called Network Rail and told the train station manager, but was not sure whose responsibility the wall was, so ended up moving some of the bricks herself.

She said: “I’m doing this for other people, because nobody speaks up anymore.

“There are enough people use this road every day, but maybe they haven’t noticed it.

“If we can save a life by highlighting these things then we must.”

Botley Road has long been thought of as a dangerous road for cyclists.

In 2000, 30-year-old Rachel Barker was killed when she was hit by a lorry on Botley Road at the junction of Roger Dudman Way. Her mother Doreen went on to campaign for better safety signs on the road.

Mum-of-two Lisa Harker, from Botley, lost her unborn child after being hit by an 18-tonne lorry at the same junction in 2004.

In 2012, Botley Road was branded one of the most dangerous roads for cyclists in the UK by cycling charity Sustrans.

On May 9 this year, Oxford University student Claudia Comberti slipped off her bike near the A420 sliproad and was hit by a bus.

Just last month, Oxford’s Broken Spoke bike co-operative, Oxford city councillors and some of Claudia’s friends launched the Claudia Charter for Safer Cycling in the city, calling for decisive political commitment to cycle safety in and around Oxford, safer roads for cyclists and for greater respect for vulnerable road users.

Speaking at the launch, Caitlin Bartlett Broken Spoke said ‘Claudia was an experienced cyclist but the city’s roads let her down’.

Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, said it would look into the crumbling wall as soon as possible.

Spokesman Martin Crabtree said: "We will inspect the location both to remove any debris and also whether any repairs to the wall are needed."