Auriol Grey: Huntingdon cycle death row prompts changes to town route

Auriol Grey, who confronted the cyclist in the Cambridgeshire town, was convicted of manslaughter after a retrial

The death of a cyclist who fell into the path of a car after a confrontation with a pedestrian on a pavement has led to changes regarding shared footpaths.

Auriol Grey, 49, was jailed after acting in an "aggressive way" towards Celia Ward, 77, who was killed in 2020 in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

Police could not "categorically" state whether the pavement was a shared cycleway, but the judge said it was.

The county council has now carried out a review over the town ring road.

The authority is to introduce better signage to highlight that the paths are to be shared and will also print cycle maps to be distributed locally to raise awareness.

Celia Ward and her husband, David, pictured left, married in 1967

In March, Grey was jailed for three years after being convicted of manslaughter.

The two women passed each other in opposite directions on the pavement along Nursery Road - part of Huntingdon's ring road - on 20 October.

In CCTV footage, Grey could be heard shouting and gesturing at Mrs Ward, a retired midwife, to "get off the [expletive] pavement".

A court heard Mrs Ward then "collided" with Grey and fell into the road, where she was hit by a car.

Following Grey's conviction, Cambridgeshire County Council said it might review its shared pavements policy, admitting it did not know whether this section was one.

In its subsequent report, the council said: "Following the recent incident on Nursery Road the county has, and will continue to, reaffirm the importance of all users taking care and being considerate to each other."

It said the footway on Nursery Road's north side had never been signed as shared use and did not appear as a cycle route on council bike maps.

More signs would now be put up to point out shared use paths at places along the ring road after spotting "some gaps", the council said.

Mrs Ward was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash in Nursery Road

Signs on Ambury Road have also been installed after its footpath to the ring road was turned into shared use in December.

Additionally, updated cycle maps would be published on the council website, with printed copies distributed locally.

Longer term, the council said it wanted to carry out a full review of the ring road and links to the town's surrounding cycle network.

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