TRIBUTES have been paid to a cycling campaigner who has been killed in an accident.

Former university lecturer Mark Brummell was involved in a collision with a car driven by a man who was later arrested on suspicion of causing death by careless driving.

Mr Brummell was a member of Southampton Cycling Campaign, which aims to improve conditions for riders in the city.

His death comes just months after the group’s chairman, Lindsi Bluemel, suffered serious head injuries in a freak accident that occurred a few days after her helmet was stolen.

Lindsi, 56, of Southampton, came off her bicycle as it clipped a 16ft piece of plastic in the cycling lane of Wessex Way, Bournemouth.

She spent six days in intensive care and five days on a ward before being discharged from hospital.

Mr Brummell, 53, was killed in the New Forest on Monday evening.

Southampton Cycling Campaign spokesman Dily Gartside said: “Mark was a highly intelligent man who was able to understand any subject in great depth and get right to the heart of the problem.

“He was an amazing source of knowledge and information.”

Mr Brummell joined the physics department at the University of Southampton in the late 1980s but took early retirement about ten years ago on the grounds of ill health.

He was a popular figure at the Wellington Arms, in Freemantle, Southampton, where he enjoyed great success in the pub’s regular quiz nights.

He spent much of his time maintaining and restoring bicycles at his home.

Mrs Gartside added: “He’d only just finished building a replacement bike for my son, whose own cycle had been stolen. The replacement cost a fraction of what he’d have paid elsewhere – and was twice as good.

“Mark was a unique man who was truly irreplaceable.”

Professor Anne Tropper, head of the university’s quantum, light and matter group, also paid tribute.

“Mark was an outstanding and caring teacher who put immense effort into helping students with their career decisions,” she said.

Mr Brummell was killed at Ipley Crossroads on the B3056 Lyndhurst to Applemore road after going out for an evening ride.

He was in collision with a silvercoloured Renault Megane driven by a 59-year-old man from Christchurch, Dorset, who was arrested and later released on bail until September 18.

Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to call Sgt Andy Lynch at Eastleigh police station on 101.