A JURY has cleared a motorist who was accused of a "road rage” style attack on a cyclist in the Lake District during a day out.  

It took a jury at Carlisle Crown court less than an hour to deliver a not guilty verdict on 36-year-old James French, who told the court that there was an altercation with the cyclist but he had acted in self-defence.

He had consistently denied an allegation of actual bodily harm assault.

Giving evidence during the trial, Mr French said that he had been out for a drive in the Lake District with his girlfriend on May 15, 2021, when he began to drive his white Volvo over Hardknott Pass. 

He described it as a “dangerous", "single-track” road. 

Mr French recalled being behind cyclist Lee Kermode for three or four minutes as they made their way up the pass and when the road became a bit wider Mr Kermode moved the left and he drove past him. 

Under questioning from defence barrister Anthony Parkinson, he said there was no contact between his car and Mr Kermode as he drove past. He said: "We drove very slow and then he struck the rear of the vehicle.”

In his own evidence, Mr Kermode said he had shouted the word "idiot" as the car pulled away from him after passing him. To his knowledge, said Mr French, his car had not struck Mr Kermode.

Mr French said he pulled over and then he described what he said happened next. 

He told the court: “As soon as I’d got out of the door, Mr Kermode was at my side of the road, on the driver’s side. He came round to the driver’s side and . At this point, he walked over to me. 

“He was saying things but I was more focused on the fact that he was moving towards me very quickly. He was in my face. I told him to get out of my face… He struck me in the face, on my cheek.” 

He then fell over, he said. 

“We both fell over the bike,” he said. “I fell towards him. I’m assuming he fell over the bike too. It happened so quickly. We were on the grass at the side of the road. He tried to punch me again.” 

That attempted blow missed, he said, and he then punched Mr Kermode on the nose. They were grappling on the ground and Mr Kermode lunged at him as he tried to restrain him. 

“I was shouting at him to calm down,” said Mr French.

Mr Kermode, in his evidence, had told the jury that it was Mr Frech who had attacked him, punching him and grabbing him around the throat. He also accused the defendant of "strangling" him before the incident ended.

The confrontation ended when the men separated and Mr French returned to his car but as he returned briefly to retrieve his keys, which he had dropped on the grass, said the defendant, Mr Kermode was swearing at him and saying he drove “too close” to him. 

Mr French,  of Speakman Road, Denton’s Green, St Helens,  said he had asked the other man: “Look at your bike; was this all worth it? What was the point?” 

After driving along the valley for a few miles, he pulled over because he felt sick and concluded he was unsafe to drive. He stood outside the car for fresh air and was tidying up tools in his boot when two cyclists who were with Mr Kermode arrived and asked him what happened.

The jury also heard a recording of his call to the police, telling the call handler that the cyclist, Mr Kermode, had hit him and he had told him to calm down. The jury returned their not guilty verdict after deliberating for 51 minutes.