A mother, whose daughter suffered a broken arm in an accident on an Oxford cycle path, accused the county council of designing routes that were too dangerous to use.

Keen cyclist Irene Stratton, from Linkside Avenue, north Oxford, said many bike-owners in the area were refusing to use new cycle paths because of the risk of accidents.

Her nine-year-old daughter Theodora was left with her arm in plaster after a collision with another cyclist on the Woodstock Road cycle path. She fears people could be killed on the route.

The mother-of-two said: "The cycle route is only 1.2m wide, so there is no room for two cyclists to pass. My daughter could have been killed. Luckily, she only broke her arm.

"Other cyclists won't use the path because they have nearly been hit by motorists reversing out of their drives. People also have problems with slippery concrete and wet leaves.

"Pedestrians and people waiting at bus stops are also put at risk. I will not use the cycle path again.

"The council keeps talking about people using bicycles, but if their paths are too dangerous, they are no use at all. The council should have consulted cyclists first."

Samantha Tharm, senior transport planner at Oxfordshire County Council, insisted the paths were safe.

She said: "We would expect cyclists to use the paths with common sense and caution, as with other areas of the road or pavement. We are very aware of safety issues, and design the cycle paths with huge attention to detail.

"Ideally, people should be riding with the flow of traffic, rather than everybody riding on one side of the road."

She said it was impossible to prevent every accident.

But she added: "Having a slightly narrow cycle lane is better than having none at all."