Josh Milton
Published March 11, 2026 8:03pm
Updated March 11, 2026 8:07pm
Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook
Comment now
Comments
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Up Next
Previous Page Next PageA man who killed an elderly army veteran by hitting him with an e-bike on the pavement has been spared jail.
Clifford Cage, of Rochester, Kent, was riding his e-bike along City Way in Rochester when he hit James ‘Jim’ Blackwood, 91, on July 6 2023.
The great-grandfather was crossing the pavement back to his house, having just put the rubbish out.
Cage, an agency worker, was travelling about 12mph on the road when he knocked Jim over just before 7am.
CCTV played to the court showed Jim pulling his wheelie bins in a way that showed he was ‘elderly and frail’, the judge said.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
Cage phoned 999, telling the dispatcher that he did not see Jim stepping out from behind an overgrown bush.
Jim Blackwood was taking his bins out when he was hit (Picture: Family handout/PA Wire)
The former Royal Engineer was ‘sort of coherent’ at the time, Cage added, as he encouraged Jim to try not to get up while waiting for an ambulance.
Cage cycled on the pavement as he had two ‘near misses’ when riding the road of City Way, a major street that stretches through East Ward.
He told police that he thought it wasn’t illegal to cycle on the path.
Jim died of internal injuries three months after the crash.
His daughter, Christine White, said her father’s death had left a ‘huge emotional toll’ on the family.
‘It’s painful to see mum suffering so much, she really doesn’t want to be here without her partner of 72 years,’ Christine said.
‘I miss dad terribly. I was a real daddy’s girl.’
Christine White and her partner Mike George outside Maidstone Crown Court (Picture: Anahita Hossein-Pour/PA Wire)
Blackwood’s wife Hanni said in a statement read to the court that ‘there’s not a day’ she doesn’t think of him.
Her husband had served in Northern Ireland ‘but was killed outside his front door’.
Defending Cage, Danny Moore KC said his client stayed at the scene because ‘he’s a decent human being’.
He said: ‘The knowledge his actions have caused the death of another human being is something he will carry with him for the rest of his life.’
Judge Julian Smith said that while Cage showed ‘genuine remorse’, he ‘ignored the risks’ of cycling on the pavement.
Jim, he added, ‘suffered significantly’ in his final days when he was bedbound and immobile.
Cage was sentenced to 15 months behind bars, suspended for two years, which means he will not serve prison time as long as he meets certain conditions.
The judge also ordered Cage to carry out 15 days of rehabilitative activity requirement and 180 hours of unpaid work.
Trending Now
-
Hero teacher barricaded classroom after girl 'covered in blood' in school stabbing
Channel: UK UK 7 hours ago By Isobel Frodsham - Kremlin accidentally releases footage of Putin the world wasn't meant to see
- Iran issues sinister and incredibly personal warning to Trump
- Deadly bug found in taps breaks out in two parts of London
The Crown Prosecution Service said this is the first case of its kind for a manslaughter conviction linked to cycling on the pavement.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Joe Pullen said the incident captured how ‘dangerous’ it is to cycle on the pavement.
‘Cage admitted he had never thought about the danger he could pose to others,’ Pullen added.
‘It was that simple lack of thought that led to James’ death.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].
For more stories like this, check our news page.
Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source News UpdatesStay on top of the headlines with daily email updates.
Email I agree to receive newsletters from Metro I agree to receive newsletters from Metro Sign UpSign UpThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Your information will be used in line with our Privacy Policy