A FORMER security guard who worked at Worcester Warriors struck a cyclist in his van and left him lying injured at the side of the road.

Thomas Dickinson had not realised he had hit the cyclist when he drove off after the crash in Pershore Lane in Hindlip, near Worcester.

The 31-year-old admitted failing to stop and careless driving at Worcester Magistrates Court yesterday.

He was behind the wheel of a Peugeot Partner van when he hit the cyclist, aged in his 20s, at 10.20pm on May 26 last year. The cyclist was later found ‘dazed and confused’ at the roadside and had to be taken to hospital with soft tissue injuries. His bike was also damaged - the saddle detached and rear wheel folded in half.

David Whittaker, prosecuting, said the van suffered a broken windscreen and nearside damage on impact, telling magistrates Dickinson ‘did not check to see what he hit’. Officers on mobile patrol in Droitwich saw Dickinson’s van with its hazard lights on. When he was stopped, he told them he had hit a road sign.

The van's dashcam had captured the incident. The defendant had stopped the van, believing he had struck a sign, before continuing his journey. Mr Whittaker said: “He was asked if he did not think to go back and see what he had struck. He said no.”

Sundeep Soor, defending, said his client accepted he should have gone back even if it had been a road sign he had struck.

“He didn’t see the cyclist. He was clearly on autopilot,” said the solicitor. Dickinson had worked a 12 hour shift and an eight hour shift with five hours of sleep in between, the court was told.

The solicitor stressed his client’s early guilty plea and co-operation with police. He said an engine malfunction light had come on which may have distracted Dickinson of Timbertree Crescent, Cradley Heath.

Magistrates banned him from driving for 12 months, fined him £53 for failing to stop and £80 for careless driving. Dickinson was also ordered to pay £110 costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

The court heard that Dickinson worked for a security firm which has contracts at a number of Worcester businesses, including at Warriors' Sixways stadium.