Driver inhaled laughing gas before fatal crash

An unlicensed driver who killed a cyclist in a hit-and-run had been inhaling nitrous oxide at the wheel and ignored a red light before the crash, a court heard.

Graham Slinn, 81, was walking his bike across the A57 near Todwick, South Yorkshire, when he was hit by Cain Byrne's car and thrown at least 15ft in the air on 4 April, prosecutor Laura Marshall told Sheffield Crown Court.

Witnesses said the 20-year-old had made no attempt to stop at a crossing and had been travelling well over the 50mph limit, with one estimating his speed at 80mph.

The father-of-two, who has never held a driving licence, admitted causing death by dangerous driving and a number of other offences at an earlier hearing.

On Friday, he was meant to be sentenced but the hearing was adjourned to allow for further probation reports to be prepared.

However, the court was shown footage of Byrne inhaling "laughing gas" from a balloon before and after the incident.

Rebecca Stephens, defending, said Byrne drove away thinking he had only hit a vehicle with his wing mirror, which Judge Jeremy Richardson KC said showed how "completely inebriated" he had been.

He was seen in the CCTV footage inhaling from the balloon just moments after he hit Mr Slinn.

Ms Marshall told the judge that Byrne, of Redvers Buller Road in Chesterfield, had 27 previous convictions, including for dangerous driving.

Judge Richardson said Byrne had gone about his business "as if you did not have a care in the world".

"For nearly 60 years Mr and Mrs Slinn lived thoroughly decent lives. They were going to celebrate, in the very near future, their diamond wedding anniversary," he said.

"That will not happen, and the reason that will not happen is because you drove a motor car with cloned licence plates, at great speed, well in excess of the speed limit, on a dual carriageway, straight through a red light."

Jacqueline Slinn said she and her husband met through their love for cycling and he still rode his bike multiple times a week, despite his age.

He worked as a scaffolder until he had to retire following a heart attack, and then helped care for adults with learning disabilities, she said.

"Sixty years of marriage, almost, wiped out by the defendant," Mrs Slinn added.

Judge Richardson said Byrne was "utterly, utterly out of control", but accepted he had a "very deprived background in every conceivable way".

The defendant lost two brothers in traumatic circumstances, Ms Stephens said, with one dying in a car accident when he was 11 and the other being stabbed when he was 17.

Judge Richardson said: "You come from a disordered family. You have led a disordered life. You were, at the material time, completely out of control.

"You are facing a very, very long time in custody, this case demands that. This is about as bad as it gets."

Byrne was remanded into custody ahead of his sentencing on 21 July.

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