A mum was forced to spend Christmas on crutches after she tripped over a cycle lane divider installed as part of the Cycle Enfield scheme.

Lucy Wilkinson, who lives in Southgate, was on her way to the doctor at the end of November when she fell over an ‘orca’ – a plastic fin used to separate cycle lanes from the main carriageway – on Green Lanes, fracturing her kneecap.

The mother-of-two’s plans for Christmas were thrown into disarray as she was left bedbound and unable to shop for presents – so she had to resort to online shopping.

Mrs Wilkinson said: “I was going to the doctor, and as I walked out across the road I went flat in the middle of the road and fractured my knee.

“I was lucky enough to get up in time to get across. If there had been a car, I would have been a lot more injured.

“If I was an elderly lady, I wouldn’t have been able to get up.”

She added: “I couldn’t work or get the kids to their schools and clubs. I live in a big house and getting up and down the stairs was a nightmare.

“I am usually a very active person, but I was confined to my bed.

Mrs Wilkinson – who still needs to use crutches to go up and down the stairs – says she was not able to see the orca in the winter afternoon darkness.

She said better lighting or luminous markings should be put in place to make people aware of the orcas – or they should be removed altogether.

Mrs Wilkinson suggested there were more people being injured by the cycle lanes than there were using them.

She said: “What does it have to take to remove these things – for someone to be killed?

“I think there should be either warning signs saying ‘beware of the orcas’ or better lighting to show they are there.

“I don’t think ‘use a pedestrian crossing’ is a valid excuse.”

Mrs Wilkinson is planning to make a personal injury claim against the council and could receive compensation if her bid is successful.

The council has previously refused to remove the orcas after facing complaints from people who tripped over them.

Enfield Council declined to comment on Mrs Wilkinson’s case due to the threat of legal action.