Trucker avoids jail after horror collision

A LORRY driver who killed a cyclist in a horror road accident has been spared jail.

- By Bart Dickson

James Peat hit Una Brandreth after he turned his HGV into her without indicating at a junction.

The quantum physics expert, 56, had been cycling alongside his vehicle in East Dunbartonshire town Bearsden, when Peat turned left and collided with her.

Ms Brandreth - described by her family as "a much-loved sister, mother and daughter" - was dragged under the vehicle's wheels before the trucker drove on, unaware of the tragedy.

Witnesses rushed to her aid but she was pronounced dead at the scene in March last year.

Yesterday, Peat, 62, appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court and admitted causing death by careless driving.