The mother of a cyclist tragically killed in a collision with a lorry has been made an OBE for road safety campaigning.

As chairman of RoadPeace UK, Cynthia Barlow, 69, of Camden Town, fights to prevent road deaths as well as offering support for the families of road collision victims.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Ms Barlow, of North Villas, said when she first heard the news about her OBE. “That may be because road deaths are not high profile in the media, so hopefully this will do something about that, to make the people in the right jobs more aware that they can all do something to stop these dreadful collisions.”

Ms Barlow lost her only child, 26-year-old Alex McVitty, after she was hit by a concrete mixer lorry in June 2000 as she cycled to work in the City of London.

Ms Barlow sought justice for her daughter’s death, but when she was repeatedly refused information by the coroner and the police she became determined to campaign for better road safety in the UK.

Lucy Dennett, of Hampstead, was also made an OBE for services to volunteering while Deborah Ounsted, of Camden Town, was made a CBE for services to the charitable sector.

Entrepreneur and Hampstead resident Priya Lakhani, the creator of Masala Masala sauces, becomes an OBE for services to business, community and voluntary initiatives.