Artist ‘with world at her feet’ killed on bike hit by Oxford Street bus

Jayne Helliwell

“So talented”: Jayne Helliwell [right], 25, was knocked down in Oxford Street. Friends told how she loved her bike and travelled on it everywhere

This is the first picture of a promising young artist crushed to death by a bus while cycling in central London.

Jayne Helliwell suffered fatal injuries when she was hit by the No 390 as she passed a bus stop in Oxford Street near Tottenham Court Road station.

Ms Helliwell, who would have turned 26 yesterday, lived in east London and was an artist, photographer, graphic designer and music video director.

Today friends paid tribute to her. Musician Leo Kurunis, 22, said: “Jayne was a lovely girl and so talented. She did so much with her life — she always had projects on the go. She was a warm-hearted girl with the world at her feet.

“Everyone who knew her is devastated. She loved cycling and travelled everywhere on her bike. Her parents are from Rugby and have come down to London to celebrate what would have been Jayne’s birthday with all her friends. It is very sad for them all.”

Ms Helliwell studied illustration and animation at Kingston University. She put on art shows in the capital and designed artwork for bands and DJs.

She died in the Royal London Hospital four hours after last Wednesday’s accident. The 59-year-old bus driver suffered minor injuries and was arrested on suspicion of causing death by driving without due care and attention. He has been bailed until June. Roadworks had reduced the east end of Oxford Street to a one-lane “slalom”.

Ms Helliwell’s friend Amelia Gregory said: “I hope, very soon, that we will see safer roads for cyclists and that her life will not have been taken in vain.”

A Transport for London spokesman said: “We are very saddened to hear that Jayne Helliwell died. We will work with the police and the bus operating company, Metroline, to fully investigate the incident.

“Accidents such as the one in Oxford Street last week are rare. In the past four years, three cyclists have been killed following a collision with a bus on London’s roads.”  Since 2000, TfL say there has been a 21 per cent fall in the number of cyclists killed or seriously injured on London’s roads, compared with the mid to late Nineties.

At the same time, there has been a 107 per cent increase in the number of cycle journeys made on London’s roads in the past decade.

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