Driver jailed for cyclist's death

The cycle lane ran between the bus lane and the rest of the traffic

A newly qualified bus driver has been jailed for one year after admitting causing the death of a woman cyclist.

Victoria McCreery, 37, was on London's Blackfriars Bridge when she was hit by a bus driven by Michael Duncan, of Lower Edmonton, north London, last May.

Judge Simon Davies said on Friday that while Duncan had lost concentration, the layout of road markings was a "contributory factor".

Duncan, 22, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.

Judge Davies said transport chiefs should ensure this never happens again.

"I have no doubt that the layout of that bridge on that day was a contributory factor," he said.

Duncan, quite simply, should have seen her and taken steps to prevent the collision Andrew Espley, prosecuting

"If there is anything positive that I can hope for that might emerge from this case in that respect, it is that those advisers get on the job, cut through what may otherwise be superfluous bureaucracy to ensure, at least on that part of the road in London, this never happens again."

He said Duncan, who had held a bus driver's licence for just 52 days, was a person of "integrity and trustworthiness", who deserved credit for admitting causing death by dangerous driving.

But although he was guilty of a simple "lapse, a momentary, dangerous error of judgement", there were no exceptional circumstances that could save him from jail.

The court heard Australian-born Mrs McCreery, a physiotherapist who had married one year earlier, had overtook Duncan as he waited at a bus stop and was "entirely within the cycle lane".

Andrew Espley, prosecuting, said: "All the time the bus moved, Mrs McCreery was clearly visible......and Duncan, quite simply, should have seen her and taken steps to prevent the collision."