Tribute to woman who died after towpath collision

The incident took place near Iffley Lock in Oxford

The family of a pedestrian who died after a collision have paid tribute to their "wonderful and loving" mother and sister.

Polly Friedhoff, 81, died two weeks after colliding with a cyclist on his bike on the River Thames towpath near Iffley Lock, Oxford.

Ms Friedhoff's family said her death, which happened in November 2022, was an "avoidable tragedy".

The cyclist, Edward Bressan, 56, of Newton Road, Oxford, was cleared of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving.

In the statement released by Ms Friedhoff's family, they said she was "so full of life" and a "source of such limitless kindness, joy, and inspiration".

They added: "Her loss is and will forever be very deeply felt.

"Polly’s life being cut short was an avoidable tragedy resulting from the dangers arising from an ungoverned shared space, which she herself had warned about.

"Usually we don’t allow bicycles on pavements, yet this path is no wider than one."

The statement criticised current notices along the pathway, suggesting they are "not clearly visible and the language is not strong enough".

They are calling for clearer rules on the towpath to prioritise pedestrians like the Highway Code.

The family added: "It is deeply upsetting to walk there now and still feel that an accident is waiting to happen and another family could suffer a loss like ours."

A spokesperson for Oxfordshire County Council said their thoughts were with Ms Friedhoff's family.

They added: "We have been involved in towpath improvement work and installing signs calling on people to be considerate and respect other users on spaces that are shared by those walking and those cycling.

"Our ambitions for Vision Zero involves learning lessons from incidents and working closely with other organisations to ensure people can move around all of the Oxfordshire network safely."