A British Paralympian said cyclists were put at "great danger" by people attempting to cross the route of last night's Pearl Izumi tour, including a mother who "shoved" her son into the path of oncoming bikes.

Dame Sarah Storey, a former world champion and Paralympic gold medal winner, crashed into a boy as he crossed at the fastest corner of the Croydon town-centre course during the race.

She said the collision left her "battered" and the boy "trapped" under her bike.

Storey finished tenth in the Matrix Fitness GP Series race, which is running alongside the Pearl Izumi series as it tours the country.

Following the race, she said on Twitter: "Bit battered after exiting the fastest corner on the circuit & being confronted by a woman trying to cross the course with her young son.

"Had nowhere to go & ended up hitting them but worse was the woman shoved her boy towards me when he was trying to run for safety.

"Seriously hope he is ok after getting trapped under my bike not a nice thing to happen mid race & nothing I could do to stop it".

There were multiple crashes during last night's races, with several of the male riders too injured to climb onto the winner's podium.

The collisions led pundit Ned Boulting to dub the event "Croydon carnage".

Storey, who has 26 World Championship titles and 11 Paralympic gold medals to her name, said some spectators had put cyclists and staff at risk.

She said "The roads were closed & barriers lined the course but people passing through the area of the race broke barriers

"It happened all round the course by people annoyed they weren't able to use their "usual" route. This put riders & staff at great danger

"No one wants to hit a spectator, let alone a child. The scary thing was the camera bike which could have hit someone too".