Cyclist Ella Phillips: 'He mysteriously appeared out of nowhere, a bit like an action hero'. Inset: Ed Miliband

Published: 8 May, 2013
EXCLUSIVE by PAVAN AMARA

ED Miliband ran into the middle of the road – just like “an action hero” – to aid a cyclist who had crashed off her bike in Kentish Town.

Ella Phillips, 29, thought she had suffered concussion when the Labour Party leader’s face suddenly appeared in front of her after she had flipped over her handlebars near the underground station in Kentish Town Road on Thursday. He whisked her onto the pavement and away from traffic.

She said: “He mysteriously appeared out of nowhere, a bit like an action hero. 

“There was a bike in front of me which suddenly stopped so I had to make an emergency brake. The back wheel flipped over, and the next thing I knew my face was hurtling towards the ground. There must have been a fault with the brakes or the chain. 

“Then, there was Ed Miliband’s face looking very concerned at me. I started to wonder how badly I’d banged my head. My first thought was that I was seeing things because I was still in quite a daze.”

Ms Phillips, an artist, had been riding her Etienne bike to her work at Holborn’s October Gallery, where she is an education coordinator. 

She said she was surprised how “suave” Mr Miliband appeared.

“He kept asking if I was ok, if I was hurt,” she said. “He was there for a good few minutes. 

“What added to all the confusion was that he was actually attractive and not geeky at all. Even the way he appeared was suave. He was dressed casually but he had style.

“I don’t know if he was in his car and stopped it to get out, or was walking close by. But wherever he came from he disappeared just as fast. I didn’t even see which direction he went in. He literally disappeared into thin air once I was ok. I didn’t even get to thank him.”

She added: “I’ll definitely be voting for him now. In fact, it worked so well I half suspected he had deliberately knocked me off my bike just to gallantly help me up again. 

“I can just imagine people getting knocked off their bikes by politicians all over London now. You can’t deny it would be great PR, but getting found out wouldn’t be as good.” 

The Labour Party did not contact the New Journal about the incident.

The following day Ms Phillips took herself to Whittington Hospital, in Highgate, where she discovered she had fractured her arm. 

“I want to say thanks to all the staff there. They were excellent,” she said.

A spokesman for Mr Miliband confirmed he had helped Ms Phillips.

• A cyclist broke his leg yesterday (Wednesday) morning in a collision with a car in Kentish Town at the junction of Leighton Road and Torriano Avenue.