A MOTORIST has admitted causing death by careless driving following a crash which killed a cyclist in Worcester.

Mark Treasure admitted causing the death of Anthony Ryder after the crash on the A449 at Claines, near Worcester when he appeared at Worcester Crown Court yesterday.

Members of Mr Ryder's family wept in court when Treasure entered his guilty plea.

Treasure had denied the offence at a hearing at the city's magistrates court in November last year but changed his plea to guilty at this first hearing at crown court.

The 55-year-old of Green Lane, Bevere, near Worcester was arraigned by the clerk of the court, pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving on December 22, 2017.

Treasure was driving a Fiat Doblo when he was involved in the crash which killed 46-year-old Mr Ryder of Droitwich.

We reported at the time how there was a crash between a cyclist and a van on the junction of the A449 and Claines Lane in Worcester at 7.05am.

Nick Berry, defending, said: "I'm very conscious Mr Ryder's family are sitting in the public gallery. He (Treasure) has entered a guilty plea to this offence. There is no written basis of plea.

"I invite the court, before it proceeds to sentence, to adjourn the matter for a pre-sentence report to ascertain as much information as possible about this individual before the court passes sentence."

He said such an adjournment would also allow Treasure to find references and to write a letter to the family of Mr Ryder.

Mr Berry told the court that the defendant was a man of previous good character.

Judge Robert Juckes QC also imposed an interim driving ban upon Treasure, who attended court with his wife. The disqualification will begin immediately.

He said: "You have had the good sense to plead guilty to this which is really the best you can do to assist those who have suffered the loss which you have caused."

Judge Juckes said he would adjourn sentence for the preparation of a short form pre-sentence report 'bearing in mind your good character'. This report will be prepared by the court's probation liaison officer ahead of the sentencing hearing on January 28.

However, judge Juckes warned Treasure: "I have to be clear that this not an indication that a non-custodial sentence will follow."

Asked if he understood this, Treasure, who appeared emotional in the dock, answered: "Yes, I do."

The family of Mr Ryder did not wish to comment until Treasure has been sentenced.

However, speaking after Mr Ryder's death last year, his wife, Dionne, praised him as an incredibly clever and creative man, who was also a keen cyclist.

She said: "He was massively into new technology. He would always compare whatever new gadgets he had with our son.

"He was very into DIY and was very creative. If he ever saw something he would say that he could make it himself and that he could do it for cheaper.

"The things he made would always last. He’d always do a better job than the real thing.

“He was very close to his children. He loved them very much and he looked after us all very well.

“I’m not sure where the obsession [for cycling] came from, I think he just wanted to get fit and it just escalated from there.

“He loved cycling and was incredibly keen. He was always on his bike. He was always out cycling with friends and colleagues.”