THE girlfriend of a cyclist who died after colliding with a lorry has paid tribute to her loving partner, Ninian Fraser Donald...

THE girlfriend of a cyclist who died after colliding with a lorry has paid tribute to her "loving" partner.

Kate Evenden, 43, of Graham Road, Dalston, has been left devastated after her partner of five-and-a-half years, Ninian Fraser Donald, died last Friday.

"I'm pretty desperate," she told the Gazette. "I'm just overwhelmed by the amount of friends who have given me help and support."

The 33-year-old had been riding on his bike when he collided with a dumper truck at the junction of Kingsland Road and Whiston Road in Haggerston at 10.30am on Friday.

"He was a lovely man and a fantastic father," she added. "He was an incredibly loving person, always smiling and always happy. He'd help anyone."

The couple, who met through friends at The George pub in Parkholme Road, Dalston, have a 19-month-old daughter, Rosie.

Kate said: "She's not very happy. He spent a lot of time with her as we both work freelance.

"He was devoted to her. She's not really old enough to understand, but she's been asking for 'dada' and going around looking for him."

Ninian, originally from Edinburgh, was a set builder and painter who had lived in Hackney for nearly 15 years and played a number of instruments for several bands, including one called Lark.

"I think there's going to be 300 to 400 people at his funeral because so many people cared about him," said Kate.

His sister Saskia Donald, 35, said she was still in shock. "It's devastating to have someone taken away from you so quickly," she said.

"My brother was very popular. He was an incredibly friendly and loyal person, the kind of person people wanted to be around."

A postmortem was carried out yesterday (Wednesday) at Poplar coroner's court and the cause of death was given as multiple injuries. An inquest was opened and adjourned on the same day.

The tragedy is the latest in a number of accidents in which cyclists have died or been seriously injured.

Another cyclist was injured last Friday morning after he collided with a car at the junction of Amhurst Road and Witnesses to the incident last Friday are being urged to call Insp David Brewster at Stoke Newington police station on 020 7275 3234.