The driver involved in a collision with cyclist in Richmond Park, which triggered a horror crash that left his car a tangled wreck, has been fined.

The female cyclist suffered shock and facial injuries and required hospital treatment after the incident, which took place in February.

It has just emerged that the driver, a photographer, Michael Machalepis, aged 77, of Richmond, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention at Lavender Hill Magistrates Court.

He was ordered to pay a fine of £150, plus costs of £100 and a victim surcharge of £34, and given six penalty points on his driving licence.

The Royal Parks Police released details via Twitter this week, saying: "The collision occurred on 18/02/21 in #RichmondPark.

"The driver failed to see a cyclist as he pulled out of the junction with Ham Cross, with the cyclist hitting the side of the car. After the collision, the driver has mistakenly hit his accelerator instead of the brake.

"This caused him to pull away at speed down into Ham Dip, where he then collided with solid metal barriers, narrowly missing the trees. The driver was believed to have been doing about 5mph at the time of the collision with the cyclist."

The incident was captured on dashcam footage and the police said the basis of the prosecution was that the car was going above the 20mph speed limit when it smashed into the metal barrier.

A number of people responding to the details on twitter questioned the sentence.

In response, the police said: "The driver's guilty plea was taken into account when imposing the sentence. We have updated the cyclist involved who has made a good recovery."