FAMILY'S GRIEF KILLED THEIR

A YOUNG woman has described the earth-shattering moment she was told by police officers at a crime scene that her mam had been killed by a dangerous driver.

- LUCY JOHN

Catherine Bradford, 52, was out jogging along High Street in Dowlais on September 19, 2022, when Alex Rickwood lost control of the MG ZR car he was uninsured to drive, mounted the pavement and hit her.

Rickwood, of Wern Isaf in Dowlais, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday to five years and five months in prison, having previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving with no insurance while using a fraudulent trade plate. The 32-year-old was also disqualified from driving for more than seven years.

During the sentencing, five of Catherine's close family members bravely faced Rickwood in the dock to read out victim impact statements. They included her elderly mother Jean Davies, who stood up and told the court how she still talks to photographs of her daughter every day.

Catherine's children, Megan Thomas, 27, and Adam James, 34, were also among those who opened up about how their lives had been “destroyed”.

Visibly upset, Megan told the court how she went out looking for her mam with her stepfather Allan after she failed to return home.

Heartbreakingly, they came across the scene of the crash and were told by officers that a woman who fitted Catherine's description had been killed.

Megan said: “The trauma I have had to endure is indescribable. September 19, 2022, was the worst day of my life. A day I still have to relive.

“My mam simply went out for a run and when she didn’t come home on time, I never thought that going out to look for her would result in me and Allan being met with police blocking the road.

“The blue flashing lights still haunt me to this day. ‘I’m sorry but with the description you have given us, it does sound like Cath, and she has passed away’.

“The sound that came out of me in that moment didn’t feel real. I felt like I was dying too. There was nothing we could do. It was so final. So unfair. It shouldn’t have been her.