A FRIEND of a woman spectator who died after being struck by an out-of-control cyclist at a Bank Holiday Mountain Bike event at Llangollen told how he was standing alongside her when the collision occurred.

Ground worker John Featherstone told a Mold Crown Court jury how he was able to get out of the way in a split second.

Mr Featherstone travelled from Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Wales in 2014 with friends Peter Walton and Mr Walton’s girlfriend Judith Garrett, who died of her injuries.

He said he had ridden in the practice day the day before and described it as a quite hard course, more difficult at the bottom. Compared to other courses it was quite fast, he said.

There were competition officials on site. “You cannot practise unless there are marshals on the course,” he said.

He said he went over the handlebars and slid out on a corner but it was not really unusual.

The witness told how he did not do the difficult jumps at the bottom and went down an alternative course. He had not felt comfortable with the jumps, he said.

On the Sunday, he finished roughly 2.30pm or 3pm and went to Mr Walton’s van where Ms Garrett was sitting.

They walked up the track to see Mr Walton coming down.

He said they had been standing there a couple of minutes when the accident happened.

They were standing by a tree with the first jump ahead of them.

He said there were other spectators and he thought a photographer in front of them.

He told the jury: “I remember seeing the rider coming down the course. I saw him approach the first jump.

“He came over the top of the corner. I realised he had lost control. I was able to get out of the way. It was just a split second. I moved to the left.

“I did not initially realise what had happened. Then I realised there had been a collision.

"I saw Jude lying on the floor.”

He saw medics and people dealing with the situation.

“I went down to the timing hut to radio to the top to try to get Peter to come down,” he said.

Cross-examined, he agreed that until the tragic accident there was nothing different about the event.

He said that they did not go over or under any tape to get to where he and Ms Garrett were standing.

“ I am pretty sure that there wasn’t any tape there,” he said.

He did not think it was an unsafe place to stand. It had not occurred to him, he said.

The witness agreed it was well organised, not as good as some he had been to, but it was nothing out of the ordinary.

Another spectator Alison Munro, who was there to watch her son ride, said the collisional happened very quickly.

She saw a cyclist go out of control and land. It happened about 5ft away from her.

“As he went past the tree he was still on the bike," she said.

“I did see him land on top of the girl. I was not sure if he was still on the bike. I saw him pick himself up and he was very distressed immediately after.

“I am not sure if he was still on the bike at the point of impact."

She said a marshal came over very quickly. A man came over from the other side of the track who was a medic. He was there very quickly as were others, she said.

The race was then stopped as the injured lady was attended to.

Cross-examined, she said she did not believe that she had crossed any tape to get to the viewing point but agreed she might be mistaken.

She said she had no reason to think where she was standing was unsafe.

The jury had been told Ms Garrett was propelled backwards into a tree when a mountain bike rider lost control during a race – which the prosecution say was “completely avoidable”.

She was left with a fractured skull and devastating brain injuries after she was struck during the Borderline Downhill Series Mountain Biking race at Llangollen in August 2014.

Despite immediate medical attention from an off duty paramedic at the scene and treatment at a specialist trauma unit, Ms Garrett, 29, from Prudhoe, Northumberland, died.

The organiser of the race, a marshal and the British Cycling Federation said to have sanctioned the event are being prosecuted over health and safety laws by Denbighshire Council.

Michael John Marsden, 41, of Gressingham Drive in Lancaster, denies failing to conduct the event in such a way that people including Miss Garrett were not exposed to risk.

Kevin Ian Duckworth, 42, of Addison Street, Accrington, Lancashire, is alleged to have failed to ensure that his health and safety duties as an alleged marshal were complied with.

The British Cycling Federation faces a charge of failing to conduct its undertaking in such a way as to ensure the health and safety of people attending the event.

They deny all charges and the trial before Judge Rhys Rowlands is proceeding.