A woman was punched in the face after confronting youths who tried to knock her off her bike in Holloway Road.

The 33-year-old Brazillian, who does not wish to be named for fear of being targeted again, no longer feels safe cycling the short distance from her home to her job.

Her attacker, whom she describes as about 5ft 7in and aged 17 to 19, fled with his friends after a member of the public intervened just after 9.30pm on Thursday, May 15.

The day before, three teenagers were stabbed in a fight in Upper Street involving up to eight people on bikes and mopeds.

‘Could have died’

“One of them was cycling behind me trying to touch his front wheel with my back one,” the victim told the Gazette. “There was a bus right behind us and one of us could have died if we had fallen off.

“When the bus stopped, I got off the bike and said, ‘What are you doing, do you want to have an accident?’

“One thing I don’t remember is how he managed to punch me so fast. Next thing I knew I was on the floor and a guy coming off the bus stopped me getting hit again.

“I’m quite strong, but he took my feet right from under me. I never thought a kid could do that to me.”

The victim has now changed her route to work for fear of coming across the group again. She is even afraid to cycle to the shops.

“I was left with a very swollen face on one side and I couldn’t chew properly – my jaw was clicking and hurting,” she said. “My glasses ended up on the pavement. I could have easily hit my head and done a lot of damage.

“I live in Islington, I work in Islington, I love the area, but this made me wonder what could have happened if I was on a side street, not in the middle of a busy road.

“I don’t feel safe anymore.”

Police said the gang fled down Georges Road. No arrests have been made.

n Anyone with information on the attack should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.