Guilty verdicts for 'cycle tweet' motorist

Emma Way from Watton in Norfolk has been ordered to pay £667 in fines and costs and given seven penalty points on her licence.

Emma Way from Watton in Norfolk has been found not guilty of driving without due care and attention but guilty of failing to stop after the accident and failing to report the accident.

Magistrates in Norwich are considering their verdicts in the case of Emma Way, the trainee accountant who collided with a cyclist on a narrow country road and then tweeted about it.

She denies three charges of careless driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.

Cyclist Toby Hockley claims her Ford Ka was on his side of the road when it struck him, causing him bruising to his leg and damage to his bike. She insists he was on her side of the road and after the collision, she checked in her mirror that he was ok and drove off because it was a dangerous bend.

In the tweet posted a few hours later, she admitted definitely knocking the cyclist off his bike and referred to them as not paying road tax.

She did it because she was angry and annoyed.

But questioned by her solicitor on a scale of one to 10 as to how stupid it was to tweet that, she said '11'.

"It was the biggest regret of my life."

She has since lost her job

The solicitor Simon Nicholls urged the magistrates to be very careful in how they incorporated the tweet into their decision.

In evidence, Emma Way said she knew the stretch of the road in Rockland All Saints well and claimed it was the cyclist who was on her side of the road.

After striking him, she saw in her mirror that he was ok and drove on. She estimated her speed to be 15 to 20 miles per hour.

Asked by her solicitor on a scale of 1 to 10 about how stupid it was to tweet about the incident, she said 11.

She admitted it was the biggest regret of her life.

The trial of a trainee accountant accused of colliding with a cyclist and then tweeting about it has started at Norwich Magistrates' Court.

22-year-old Emma Way from Watton in Norfolk, denies three charges of careless driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.

The alleged incident took place on May 19th and involved chef Toby Hockley who was taking part in a cycling event. It's claimed he was struck by Miss Way, who then drove off. He suffered bruising and minor damage to his bike.

Miss Way has since lost her job.

Mr Hockey told the court he's an experienced cyclist, doing about 4500 miles a year.

He said he was coming round a bend behind a friend when a car coming the other way ended up on his side of the road and knocked him into the hedge.

Cross examined by Miss Way's solicitor, he admitted that quotes attributed to him in national newspapers claiming 'the car came tearing round the bend and knocked him off his bike' were wrong. Today he said he was not knocked off his bike, just into the hedge on his bike.

A driver from Norfolk, who allegedly tweeted about an accident with a cyclist, will appear in court today.

Emma Way, 22, from Watton, is due to appear at Norwich Magistrates' Court.

Her court appearance follows an incident in the village of Rockland All Saints earlier this year.

She denies three driving offences.