Cyclist cleared of manslaughter over woman's death

A cyclist who fatally crashed into a woman as she crossed the street has been cleared of manslaughter in a ground-breaking trial.

But 20-year-old Charlie Alliston was found guilty at the Old Bailey of the lesser offence of causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving.

There were tears of joy from Alliston's family when the verdict was read out - 18 months after he struck mother-of-two Kim Briggs on a fixed-wheel bike.

Widower Matthew Briggs described the ordeal as "so senseless, so avoidable and so unjust" but added: "I refuse to live my life in anger."

He vowed to bring up the couple's 14-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter "in a way that Kim would have been proud of, to honour my wife".

Judge Wendy Joseph QC ended the trial by warning she was considering a prison sentence for Alliston, adding: "I have not seen one iota of remorse from Mr Alliston at all, at any stage."

Alliston was riding a fixed-wheel bike with no front brake when he collided with Mrs Briggs on Old Street, east London, in February 2016.

The HR consultant had been crossing the road on her lunch break when Alliston hit her.

He sprang up and shouted at his victim as she lay in the road with "catastrophic" head injuries. She died a week later in hospital.

When the case came to court, jurors heard Alliston's "fixie" bike was not legal to use on the road without being modified to have a front brake added.

The former bike courier, who was 18 at the time, pleaded not guilty in the trial. He said he was unaware of the law and argued that having brakes would not have stopped him in time anyway.

He had also criticised Mrs Briggs on an internet forum days after the crash, writing: "Yes it is her fault but no she did not deserve it...

"It's not my fault people either think they are invincible or have zero respect for cyclists."

Crash investigators who studied CCTV of the incident concluded he would have been able to stop the collision if his £700 Planet X bike had had a front brake.

Jurors took over 12 hours to reach a decision in the complex case that could alter the law on the use of fixed-wheel bikes in the UK.

Mr Briggs said afterwards he would fight for a change in the law to "prevent other people going through the heartache we have to bear following Kim's needless death".

He called for a crime to be created for death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling to bring cycling offences "into line" with road vehicles.

Alliston, from Bermondsey, south London, was bailed until his sentencing on 18 September.