COUNTY NEWS VIDEO: Cyclist furious after van misses him by '˜inches'

A cyclist's near miss with a van that he said could have killed him has been caught on camera.
Howard caught the overtake on his bike cameraHoward caught the overtake on his bike camera
Howard caught the overtake on his bike camera

Teacher Howard Crompton said he was riding along the A259 on Saturday morning when an AA recovery van towing a car missed him by ‘inches’.

The AA has since apologised and said it will be taking action.

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Howard, a 38-year-old father from Angmering, said: “I saw this vehicle approaching from behind 50 metres away, next thing I know he was less than half a metre away, probably more like inches.”

Howard caught the overtake on his bike cameraHoward caught the overtake on his bike camera
Howard caught the overtake on his bike camera

He was able to pull to the left to avoid the van, but said he was left ‘absolutely fuming’.

Howard added: “You have got a nanosecond to decide what you are going to do.

“At the end of the day if he had taken me out I do not know if I would still be here.”

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Howard caught the whole thing on a camera fixed to his handlebars.

The AA has been in contact with Howard, and also commented on the video on YouTube: “We thank Mr Crompton for the footage and we sincerely apologise for the incident.

“It is clear that our patrol passed too closely and is unacceptable.

“As our own website says, when overtaking cyclists drivers should ‘give as much room as practically possible when overtaking’.

“That clearly hasn’t happened in this case.

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“We will be taking action directly with the patrol in question, and will be re-communicating with all of our patrols through our national bulletin the importance of giving cyclists space when overtaking.”

The incident has been reported to the police.

Video credit: Howard Crompton

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