CYCLISTS have called for cars to be banned from the city centre after the death of an Oxford student last week.

Claudia Comberti was killed after being hit by a bus at the junction with McDonald’s in Botley Road on Tuesday.

Police now believe 31-year-old Miss Comberti, who lived in East Oxford, had fallen from her bike just before the collision.

A petition, set up by a cyclist and since signed by more than 1,800 people, has been set up calling for private cars and motorbikes to be banned in the city centre.

The group called on Oxford University, as a ‘dominant force’ in the city to demand change.

It urged the university to push Oxfordshire County Council to install clearly marked cycle lanes on all major roads and for physical barriers, such as kerbs, between cycle lanes and roads used by other vehicles.

Greater investment and publicity for cycle safety courses is also part of the petition’s aims.

Ms Comberti’s father Sebastian Comberti signed the petition and said: “If my beloved daughter’s death could achieve any possible good, it would make my heart very slightly less broken.”

Miss Comberti had been involved in work with Broken Spoke bike co-operative in Pembroke Street, which runs bike workshops and promotes cycling in the city.