Motorist jailed for 30 weeks over death of cyclist Chris Boardman's mother

A motorist who caused the death of Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman's mother has been jailed for 30 weeks.

Liam Rosney, 33, was sent to prison at Mold Crown Court on Thursday over 75-year-old Carol Boardman's death in July 2016.

Rosney had pleaded guilty in December to one count of causing death by careless driving.

Mrs Boardman was hit by Rosney's Mitsubishi pickup truck after falling from her bike at a mini-roundabout in Connah's Quay, north Wales - seconds after he had finished a phone call.

On Wednesday, Boardman, 50, who won gold at the 1992 Olympics, called for careless drivers to lose their licences permanently.

In an interview with ITV News, Boardman said he wanted punishments for careless driving to be harsher, but not necessarily to see more people sent to prison.

In December last year, Rosney entered an agreement with prosecutors to plead guilty to the lesser charge of death by careless driving, having initially been charged with death by dangerous driving.

As well as being jailed, Rosney was disqualified from driving for 18 and a half months.

Sentencing, Judge Rhys Rowlands said: "This was an accident which could have easily been prevented and your contribution to that accident is significant in as much as you were distracted, the distraction being as a result of you using your mobile phone before the actual collision."

He added: "Any accident which results in someone losing their life is the most appalling tragedy, the more so when the deceased, as here, was well loved and, as I have indicated already, a pretty remarkable woman."

Speaking to ITV News, Boardman said that his mother's passion for cycling had inspired him to take up the sport.

"She was just amazingly positive," Boardman said. "Everybody speaks well of somebody who has died, but you would not meet anybody who could find something positive in everything. And that's gone.

"It's a loss to so many people and in such a needless, thoughtless way."

Boardman, who is a safe cycling campaigner, said he believes the legal system needs changing around death and driving, but qualified he did not want to see more people sent to prison.

"What I want to see is sentencing to reflect the crime," he said.

"I'm going to take away your right to drive for good. You lost that privilege. You chose to be careless.

"I think taking people's ability to do harm away, without burdening society, seems to be a logical step for me."