An 80-year-old dementia sufferer is being treated for a fractured spine after being struck by a cyclist who raced through a red light at a pedestrian crossing.

Grandmother Margaret Burn, of North Hill, Highgate, also has a crushed vertebrate, a neck injury and severe facial bruising after being knocked over on the crossing in North Hill.

In the last 10 years there have been at least two fatal accidents at pedestrian crossings in North Hill - including the deaths of a member of the Highgate Society, Lady Joan Neale, and an elderly man knocked down near Park House Passage.

Mrs Burn, who has lived in Highgate for half a century, was hit by a bike as she crossed North Hill to the shop.

Her daughter Nina has hit out at cyclists who ignore traffic lights and called for speed cameras to be installed along North Hill because of the fast moving traffic.

“I’ve been told by eye-witnesses that the cyclist came down the middle of the road and ignored the red light at the crossing,” she said.

“I’m often worried about the traffic along that road and how fast it moves. I think there should be speed cameras put up. When it’s rush hour it’s an even more dangerous road.”

Mrs Burn was treated for a neck injury and cuts to the head at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington after the collision on July 20, before being discharged the same day.

She was bed-ridden for two weeks before a GP discovered the extent of her injures and she was admitted to the Whittington Hospital, where she is still being treated.

Mrs Burn has lived in the same house in Highgate for almost 50 years and before retiring worked at the Rainbow Shop, which sold second hand goods, for 30 years. Her 22-year-old grand-daughter Alice Devenny now lives with her and helps take care of her.

Highgate councillor Bob Hare said there had been a long-standing problem with road safety in North Hill as drivers often treat it as an A road despite it being a residential area. He has supported draft plans for a Haringey-wide 20mph speed limit on roads managed by the council including North Hill.

Police said a 36-year-old cyclist had been reported for dangerous cycling.