Prison for driver who killed charity cyclist

A man found guilty of causing the death of a cyclist by driving dangerously on a dual carriageway in Telford has been jailed for 12 months.

Stuart Alan Cook, 47, from Bromsgrove, who Shrewsbury Crown Court heard was distracted when his sat nav fell off the windscreen, was yesterday told he would have to serve half the sentence before being released on licence.

He had denied causing the death of Arthur Platt by dangerous driving but was found guilty last week at the end of a trial.

Mr Platt, 37, of Lyndhurst, Hampshire, had been on a John O'Groats to Land's End cycle ride in aid of Help for Heroes when he was hit by Cook's BMW on the A442 Queensway between the Trench Lock and Telford Town Centre junctions.

Mr Justice Robin Spencer, who heard Cook was racked with remorse, yesterday said he would be writing to Cook's employers in the hope they would be able to keep his job open. "It would be a tragedy upon tragedy if as a result of the sentence you lost your career," he told Cook.

He sentenced Cook to 12 months imprisonment, saying he would serve six months and disqualified him from driving for four years. Mr Platt was airlifted to hospital after the collision but died of his injuries.

During the trial the jury was told Cook had admitted causing Mr Platt's death by careless driving. He told police when the sat nav fell off the windscreen he instinctively bent down to catch it.

Mr Justice Spencer said Cook must have had his eyes off the road for six to seven seconds which, he said, was a long time while driving at 55 miles an hour.

He said Mr Platt had been riding perfectly properly on the dual carriageway and it had been a gross lack of attention by Cook.