Huntingdon cyclist death: Police warn over ill-informed views

Auriol Grey was convicted of manslaughter after a retrial

Police have urged against "ill-informed comments" after an angry pedestrian was jailed for killing a cyclist in 2020.

Auriol Grey, 49, swore at and gestured in an "aggressive way" towards Celia Ward, 77, who then fell into the path of a car in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

She was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for three years on Thursday.

Investigating officer Det Sgt Mark Dollard said that following the sentencing he had seen comments which were "not helpful to anyone".

Grey, who has cerebral palsy and is partially sighted, and Mrs Ward passed each other in opposite directions on the pavement of the town's ring road, during the afternoon of 20 October.

The incident was captured on CCTV which included sound, and Grey could be heard shouting at the retired midwife to "get off the [expletive] pavement".

Grey then gestured at Mrs Ward, who fell into the path of a car and was pronounced dead at the scene.

In police interview, Grey said she believed she had made light contact with Mrs Ward.

Det Sgt Dollard, who interviewed Grey, told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "I'll always remember the morning after it occurred obtaining the CCTV and watching it in its entirety.

"In all honesty it's horrific and not appropriate for wider release to the public, but, if it were, then I think a lot of the arguments in relation to appropriate responses would be null and void."

He added that there were "considerations in relation to Auriol Grey's vulnerability" in their investigation.

"A lot of medical records... professional expert evidence was sought and presented to a jury, it's important to note, and with all that, in fact, she was found guilty of an unlawful act and that is why she was convicted," he said.

Det Sgt Mark Dollard said there were "no winners and losers" in a case like this

He said "what [Grey] did was wrong but ultimately that will not bring Celia back", and he did not believe her family "take any pleasure in the fact that a sentence was passed".

"I certainly urge people to think twice about commenting in relation to this case when they're not in possession of all the facts," the detective said.

"I've seen a number of ill-informed comments on various messaging sites as well and it's not helpful to anyone."

Shared cycleway?

The trial was told that police could not "categorically" state whether the pavement was a shared cycleway, but in his sentencing remarks Judge Sean Enright said it was.

Labour county councillor and disability campaigner Gerri Bird said: "The county council ought to have the information and it needs checking urgently."

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said: "We cannot categorically say it is a shared use path as we could not find any legal records to evidence this.

"We know it is used by cyclists and we are looking at this location to see if there is any work required to make things clearer.

"We'd urge all users to take care and be considerate to each other."

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [e-mail]