Huntingdon cyclist killer released from jail pending appeal

Auriol Grey, who confronted the cyclist in Huntingdon, was convicted of unlawful act manslaughter last year

A disabled woman whose actions led to the death of a pensioner cycling on a pavement has been released from prison pending an appeal against her conviction.

Auriol Grey, 50, shouted towards retired midwife Celia Ward, 77, causing her to fall into the road in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, in 2020.

Grey was given a three-year jail term for unlawful manslaughter last year.

A Court of Appeal official told the BBC that she had been released on bail.

Three judges gave Grey, of Bradbury Place, Huntingdon, the go-ahead to appeal against her conviction at a recent Court of Appeal hearing in London.

A bail application was granted and judges are expected to oversee a full appeal hearing in May.

She is understood to have returned home.

Celia Ward and her husband David married in 1967

The Court of Appeal heard Grey was charged with unlawful act manslaughter, which required that an unlawful action should take place to cause death.

Her lawyers argued that no such action was considered by the jury at the original trial.

"Auriol Grey is an autistic, disabled person with impaired vision," said solicitor Ben Rose.

"In a case such as this, the prosecution is required to prove to the jury that she intended to cause Mrs Ward harm, or fear of harm.

"We say this did not happen, and as a result will ask the Court of Appeal when the case is heard in May to quash Ms Grey's conviction."

The two women passed each other in opposite directions on a pavement on 20 October, 2020.

In CCTV footage, Grey could be heard shouting at grandmother Mrs Ward, telling her to get off the pavement, before she and her bicycle fall into the road.

Mrs Ward died at the scene.

The trial heard that Grey had cerebral palsy and was partially sighted, but Judge Sean Enright said: "These actions are not explained by disability."

Judges had dismissed Grey's previous application for leave to appeal her sentence in May 2023, saying it was "not arguably manifestly excessive".