A 46-year-old lorry driver who ignored road signs and made an unlawful U-turn, resulting in a fatal motorbike crash in Cornwall, has been jailed.

Marcus Kenrick, from Bodmin, admitted causing death by dangerous driving at Truro Crown Court following the death of Gareth Nicholas on 22 February 2007.

The crash happened on the A30 at the Helland junction, just north of Bodmin.

Kenrick, of St Nicholas Street, was jailed for three years and 10 months and banned from driving for five years.

Judge Philip Wassall told Kenrick that he had deliberately ignored the warning signs and road markings, banning the U-turn manoeuvre, when he could easily have turned left and returned to Bodmin by another road.

Mr Nicholas, a father-of-two from Camborne, died at the scene.

Judge Wassall said the 30-year-old railworker, who was brought up in Hayle, had no chance of avoiding the accident and described him as "a blameless rider" who had been driving within the speed limit.

Source BBC News

A lorry driver was held at gunpoint by two robbers who stole his load and left him tied up in his cab in Essex.

The 39-year-old stopped at the Moto services in Thurrock when he was approached by the men, who threatened him and made him drive to a lay-by.

The truck's load of bourbon whiskey and children's toys is then thought to have been transferred to another lorry.

The driver, from Kent, was found tied-up inside the lorry on Wednesday, several hours after his ordeal began.

Essex Police said he had collected his load from the Isle of Grain, Kent, and was due to travel north to deliver it.

'Very distressed'

The lorry was carrying two containers. One contained bottles of Wild Turkey Whiskey, worth £39,000, while the other had children's toys destined for Argos stores.

The lorry driver was at the services when he was approached by a man who asked to borrow his mobile phone.
 
When he walked back to his silver Mercedes lorry to get it a second man threatened him and said he had a gun.

The men then got into the cab with him and told him to drive for about 15 minutes until they reached an unknown location.

They stayed there for several hours before making him drive to Ongar Road, Fyfield, where he was later found.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said he recalled being shown "the barrel of what appeared to be a gun".

She said: "The driver was found with his arms and legs taped and was very distressed.

"He was otherwise uninjured but cannot remember a lot about the incident and is unaware of the locations."

The first robber is described as white and about 6ft 2in tall (1.88m). He was wearing a beanie hat and a high visibility jacket.

The second man was about 5ft 7in tall (1.7m).

Source BBC News