A motocyclist was taken to hospital with serious injuries after he was thrown "30 to 40 feet" from his bike after colliding with a pedestrian this morning.

Police and paramedics were called to South End, South Croydon, at the junction of Parker Way at 7am.

The biker, a man in his early 40s, was taken to a south London hospital in a serious condition, a Metropolitan Police spokesman said.

The pedestrian, a woman, was also taken to a south London hospital but her injuries are not thought to be serious.

Mike Gold, a manager at Scream Studios in South End, said CCTV from the studios captured the moment of impact.

He said: “From my understanding there was a gentleman on a bike, apparently he wasn’t driving too fast or anything like that, but it was just an awkward scenario where the lady that got hit was crossing the road.

“She was passing a car parked in the road and a bus was going past at the same time and I think the guy on the bike was overtaking the bus and it created a blind spot for the woman walking out from behind the car.

“After making contact with the lady she fell down immediately and the motorbike rider flew off the bike and probably landed 30 or 40 feet away.

"There was quite a big distance between the point of impact with the lady to the point where the gentleman on the bike came to a stop."

Other witnesses reported the woman stepped off a bus shortly before being hit.

South End remained shut for five hours after the crash while police investigated.

Several bus routes were diverted.

The road reopened at midday.

Mr Gold said police investigators had been in the road for several hours.

He added: "The police and transport guys were here from 7am to about half past twelve doing various speed tests, braking test just to see what they understood and make sense of what happened."