Loughborough driver left cycling PCSO with severe head injuries

PCSO Rita Purkayastha was cycling towards Loughborough town centre at the time of the crash

A driver who crashed into a cycling PCSO, leaving her with life-changing head injuries, has been jailed.

Rita Purkayastha had been riding along Leicester Road in Loughborough when she was hit by Muhammed Hussain on 4 October.

Leicester Crown Court heard the 41-year-old had been using his phone and had cocaine in his system at the time.

Hussain was jailed for two years on Friday after pleading guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

He also admitted driving under the influence of drugs and driving without insurance.

Muhammed Hussain was jailed for two years

The court heard Hussain, of Toothill Road, Loughborough, was delivering food for his restaurant at the time of the crash.

Mobile phone data showed he made a call 10 minutes before the collision as well as sending a number of text messages in the period leading up to the crash.

Witnesses said they saw the Kia car driving along the road at about the speed limit before it hit PCSO Purkayastha who was riding a police bike and wearing a high-vis jacket.

Her helmet was knocked off as she was thrown from her bike.

Onlookers rushed to help PCSO Purkayastha, who was unconscious and lying in a pool of blood.

She was rushed to hospital where scans revealed she had suffered a serious brain injury.

Hussain was arrested at the scene and tested positive for cocaine, which he said he took the night before.

Muhammed Hussain also admitted driving under the influence of drugs, identified as cocaine

The court heard how PCSO Purkayastha spent six months at a specialist neuro-rehab unit in Leicester before being moved to a facility in Loughborough where she remains.

Doctors said she was currently unable to live independently and was "highly unlikely" to be able to return to the job that she loved.

In a statement read to the court on behalf of her family, she was described as being a "wonderful lady" prior to the crash.

"Anyone who met her would have been met with love, kindness and generosity," the statement said.

"She was the definition of the life of the party."

Judge Ebraham Mooncey said the crash had a "heartbreaking" impact on PCSO Purkayastha's life.

He jailed the father-of-four for 24 months and banned him from driving for four years.