Cyclist relives horror of tanker crash

A cyclist who was run over by a petrol tanker yelled "stop, stop" and thought he was going to die as he was dragged under the vehicle, a court heard. James Moore said he still has to sleep with the television on to block out the memory of last February's crash.

"I remember screaming 'Stop, stop', I think, and I think I'm going to die. Then I can remember being under the lorry and in considerable pain," Mr Moore, 40, told Waltham Forest Magistrates' Court.

He added: "I'm reliving it now. I wake up in the middle of the night. I generally have to sleep with the television on."

Mr Moore, who is associate business editor at The Independent, was kept in a medically-induced coma for three weeks and remained in hospital for three months.

He was cycling home to Wood Green, north London, when he was hit by the lorry in Leytonstone. He is pursuing a civil claim for compensation against the tanker company's insurers. The driver was cleared of careless driving after insisting he had checked his mirrors before pulling away.

The case continues.