A VAN driver broke down in tears as he told a jury how he came to be involved in a death crash on a dual carriageway near Worcester.

Scott Mears said he just saw a "flash of high vis" as he drove along the outside lane of the A449 towards Worcester before the collision, which killed 80-year-old cyclist Richard Francis, of Checketts Road, Barbourne, on August 3, 2011.

He told the court he pulled up after the incident and walked back to where a witness was with Mr Francis and gave his details before carrying on, unaware there had been a collision.

"I didn't know what had happened," he said. "My head was in a complete mess."

It was only when he noticed the glass missing from his nearside wing mirror that he realised there could have been a collision.

Mears, aged 31, of Belt View Farm, Cannock Road, Bednall, Staffordshire, denies causing death by careless driving.

Mr Francis, a retired airline pilot, had been riding his electrically-assisted bicycle towards Worcester when the crash happened.

A witness has told the jury he saw the cyclist "drifting across" the nearside lane and the collision happened between the two lanes. He died later from head injuries.

Mears, who has worked on his parents' farm since the age of 16, said he had got his HGV licence at the age of 21. He was on his way to assist a vehicle run by the family's haulage company which had broken down in Worcester.

The prosecution alleges he had not looked ahead for eight seconds before the collision, at Hawford, near the Claines roundabout, or he would have seen Mr Francis, who was wearing a high-visibility tabard.

Mears said he drove "hundreds of thousands of miles a year" and had to be aware of hazards.

"If you drive farm machinery and other vehicles you have to have your wits about you," he said.

Earlier, the jury inspected the bicycle which had been brought into court and was examined by jury members.

The trial continues.