A CYCLIST has described the horrifying moment a young woman was hit and killed by an out-of-control mountain biker at an event at Llangollen.

David Carter told a Mold Crown Court jury he had been standing close to Judith Garrett when the collision occurred at the Bank Holiday event in August 2014.

Mr Carter told the court he had ridden the course 10 times over the weekend and described it as an “exciting” ride where cyclists reached speeds of at least 30mph.

Mr Carter said he was sitting on a stone wall when a cyclist lost control and ploughed Ms Garrett after flying off the track.

Ms Garrett, who had travelled from Whitley Bay, Tyne andWear, to watch her boyfriend take part in the British Downhill Series Mountain Biking event, was airlifted to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire in Stoke-on-Trent, but died the following day.

The track was described as challenging by Mr Carter who said: “It’s not uncommon to find yourself on the wrong line” on the part of the course where the incident took place.

“You are more a less a passenger on your own bike,” he said.

Mr Carter said the impact had thrown Ms Garrett, 29, five feet down a slope which was covered in leaves and twigs.

“She had a lot of blood on her face,” said Mr Carter, who said there had not been anything stopping spectators entering the area where Ms Garrett had been standing close to three jumps on the course.

“One of the attractions of the course is you can walk where you want to,” he said.

Mr Carter said he had also seen a race marshal close to the incident who had been lying slumped against a crash mat before the collision took place.

“Are you having a nice snooze?” he had asked the marshal.

The court also heard from James Issac, a marshal at the race who told the jury he often worked at similar cycling events.

He said he had attended a briefing before the event started presented by Mr Marsden where safety measures for the cyclists were discussed but where marshals were not told where spectators could and couldn’t go during the race.

He said that more experienced marshals tended to be assigned to more dangerous parts of the track.

The jury had been told Ms Garrett was propelled backwards into a tree when a mountain bike rider lost control during the 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.