A DRUG dealer who killed a Dudley cyclist when he ploughed into him as he was undertaking a van has been sent to jail for eight-and-a-half years.

Pensioner George Searle was a cycling club member who rode 50 miles three times a week and had been described as an experienced and safe cyclist.

But the 74-year-old, who lived in Gornal died from “catastrophic head injuries” when he was knocked off his bike as he cycled along the Stafford Road in Wolverhampton.

He was hit by a Seat car being driven by 24-year-old learner driver Kile Straker who was on bail at the time for possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to supply.

After the accident Straker fled from the scene in a determined bid to avoid detection, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

Howard Searle, prosecuting, said: “What he did was deplorable and irresponsible having left Mr Searle fatally injured in the road.”

He said Straker went on to undertake another car and he went through traffic lights on red before leaving the Seat on a garage forecourt.

Staker, a father-of-one, cried in the dock as he was told by Judge Martin Walsh he was behind “a course of driving aimed at disregarding the rules of the road.”

He further banned Straker who was also uninsured, from driving ten years and added: “no sentence would right the wrong you have done or reflect the value of a life lost.”

The judge said: “It has been established that Straker was driving at around 60 mph when he tried to undertake the van that had correctly pulled out to get past the cyclist.

“The injuries suffered by Mr Searle had been terrible, one motorist told police Straker had been driving as though he was ‘mad’ while another said he actions had been like those of a getaway driver”.

Straker, of Armstrong Drive, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and while uninsured.

Jonathon Rose, for Straker, said his client had expressed deep remorse for his actions and had written to the Searle family to tell them of his sorrow for their loss.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Searle’s widow, Cynthia, said his death was like a life sentence adding: “It is something I will have to live with everyday.”

She said the loss of her husband had made life extremely difficult and all the plans they had made for the future had been shattered.