[A] MAN has told a jury he did not punch a cyclist seconds before the rider collided with a van in a Workington street.
Damien Tinkler suffered terrible facial wounds which required stitches and surgery after careering through the back window of the vehicle on January 19.
Mr Tinkler alleges that moments earlier, as he sped on his push bike along a road close to Workington town centre, he was punched by pedestrian Raymond Kyle Smith.
Smith, 21, is on trial at Carlisle Crown Court having pleaded not guilty to causing the cyclist unlawful wounding during the night-time incident.
On day two of the hearing today (THURS), Smith gave evidence in his defence. He said he and two other males hid in a bush before leaping out as Mr Tinkler rode past. This was, he stated, “to scare him and freak him out”.
He claimed Mr Tinkler only lost control of his bike as he looked back to see who had frightened him, before crashing into the van.
Smith, of Cross Street, Workington, told jurors: “I never hit him. I never even raised my hand to him.”
The trial continues.
