A 79-year-old motorist – employed at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Ely – had his first accident for 50 years when he collided with a cyclist in the city. William Bishop had failed to see the approaching bicycle as it came towards him, down Back Hill.

A 79-year-old motorist - employed at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Ely - had his first accident for 50 years when he collided with a cyclist in the city.

William Bishop had failed to see the approaching bicycle as it came towards him, down Back Hill.

Bishop drove across the path of the cyclist- and the resulting collision left cyclist Shaun Russell with a bleeding leg, and cuts to his face and hands.

The windscreen of Bishop's car was shattered during the accident on September 21, but the pensioner was unhurt.

At Ely courthouse on Thursday, Bishop admitted driving a Toyota Corolla without due care and attention.

The collision occurred around 7.40am, the cyclist was riding down Back Hill, and Bishop was approaching from the opposite direction and turned right into Broad Street.

I was waiting for traffic to come down Back Hill, the cyclist must have been obscured from my view," Bishop explained.

"As I went to turn, my windscreen went. I did not see the cyclist until I saw him on the ground.

"I have held a licence since 1949, and this is my first offence."

Bishop, of Goldfinch Close, Downham Market, works at the hospital on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sunday mornings, he told the court.

Magistrates decided not order him to take another driving test.

"We think this was a momentary lapse of concentration, and not a result of your age," said presiding magistrate Dr Christine Shaw.

Bishop was fined �80 with �35 costs and a �15 surcharge, and three points were endorsed on his licence.