A MAN has appeared in court charged with causing the death of Harrison Sievey, the son of Frank Sidebottom creator Chris Sievey.

Vithal Visavadiya, aged 63, of Clunton Avenue, Daubhill, is charged with causing the death by careless driving of Mr Sievey, who had been cycling with a friend after a trip to the pub on February 12, 2017.

A jury at Manchester Crown Court heard that Visavadiya was driving a Vauxhall Corsa which hit the 24-year-old as he lay on the ground in Mauldeth Road, Withington, after falling off his bicycle.

Bystanders close to the scene claimed to have tried to attract the attention of the driver by shouting, waving and flashing car headlights but the car did not slow down and collided with Mr Sievey.

The court heard that Mr Sievey had consumed three pints of lager at the Victoria pub in Withington that evening and had taken half a ‘Xanax’ pill, a minor tranquilliser, before beginning his bike ride.

The jurors, alongside Judge Alan Conrad QC, heard evidence from Emily Anderson-Porter, who had been walking home with her boyfriend of the time when she saw the incident occur.

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She told the court that she had first seen the two cyclists riding down nearby Wilmslow Road slightly ahead of her but when she rounded the corner she saw Mr Sievey lying in the road with his friend Isaak Coller crouched over him.

“It all happened so quickly,” she said. “As we started to approach the bikes I became aware of some lights to my right hand side and that’s when I saw that there was a car moving towards us.”

Following questions from Justin Hayhoe, prosecuting, she added: “I became aware of the car but my attention was switching between that and the boy on the floor. But it was my partner’s shout that made me become aware of the car again and the fact that it wasn’t slowing down.”

Ms Anderson-Porter and her boyfriend Alexander Squires both waved their arms in the direction of the vehicle and he shouted stop, but Visavadiya appeared not to have seen the pairs’ protestations.

“There was a point where I knew that the collision was inevitable,” Ms Anderson-Porter said.

“So, I turned around to face away from the scene.

“This was probably about one or two metres before the car made contact.

“I didn’t want to look.”