The friend of a mother who was killed in a freak accident while riding a tandem with her nine-year-old son has described her as “an inspiration”.

Hyacinth Maynard, 40, of Cooks Close, Leytonstone, died when she severed an artery as she fell from the bicycle in Wanstead Park on July 6.

Alex Bimpeh-Segu met Ms Maynard while studying for a masters degree in information science at City University.

Ms Maynard was working for the Black Cultural Archive at the time and helped him with his studies.

They became close friends and were working on a project together when Ms Maynard died.

He said: “Hyacinth Maynard had been an inspiration to every person that had been around her in her life, whether they were her two sons, her family members, her work colleagues or her circle of friends.

“Hyacinth was herself every single day of her life, and she never pretended to be anything she was not.

“She was someone you would look up to for a role model if you were to meet her.

She was someone you would learn things from. She was someone who was fascinated by your ideas and how you put them into practice and she was someone you would be inspired by. She was a woman of many talents.”