A LORRY driver accused of causing the death of a former Southend police officer by careless driving has been cleared by a jury.

Before Ipswich Crown Court on Thursday was Charles Wilkinson, 36, of Queen’s Road, who had denied causing the death of 69-year-old cyclist Andrew Down.

A jury took 40 minutes to clear him of the charge.

Mr Down served with Essex Police for 30 years, beginning as a cadet at Hendon, before spending 24 years as a detective in the Southend area and then retiring as a chief inspector in Colchester.

Mr Down, who lived in Felixstowe, was negotiating a roundabout just off the A14 at Trimley St Martin on November 26, 2020, when he was hit by an Iveco tipper lorry being driven by Wilkinson.

Nicholas Bleaney, prosecuting, said Wilkinson had pulled off the A14 and was approaching the roundabout in Kirton Road when he hit Mr Down, who came from the right, as he passed in front of the lorry.

Mr Bleaney said Wilkinson hadn’t seen Mr Down, who was wearing a bright yellow high vis jacket, until the “very last minute”.

Dashcam footage from the lorry played to the jury showed Mr Down being hit by the lorry and rolling down the road after coming off his bike.

Following the collision Mr Down was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, but died three days later.

Mr Bleaney told the jury that prosecution and defence experts agreed that there were three blindspots in the lorry Wilkinson was driving.

However, he said that by moving his head around Wilkinson, who was driving at around 20mph, could and should have been in a position to have seen Mr Down.

Giving evidence, Wilkinson said he hadn’t seen Mr Down until the last minute because of blindspots on his lorry.

He told members of Mr Down’s family who were sitting in the public gallery: “I’m deeply sorry for what happened” and described it as “a one in a million accident”.