Killer cyclist who 'picked on an old man' by ramming his bike into pensioner after being told off for riding on pavement jailed for over six years

A raging cyclist who mowed down and killed a pensioner after being told off for riding on the pavement and without lights has been jailed. 

Thomas Childe, 24, deliberately rammed into Colin Starbuck, 79, as he waited at a bus stop in Garforth, West Yorkshire, on the evening of October 29 last year.

The chronic cannabis user, who was on his way to withdraw cash to buy more drugs, was 'annoyed' at being rebuked by him moments earlier.

Childe 'made a deliberate decision to pick on an old man', a judge said, saying he 'thought it was not his place to tell you what to do'. 

Mr Starbuck was knocked to the ground, but got to his feet and managed to get hooded Childe into a headlock.

But tragically he was then thrown into the road with 'venom', striking his head on the ground as the cyclist fled.  

Members of the public came to Mr Starbuck's aid, but he had suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead in hospital.

He had an underlying heart condition and a pathologist said the cardiac arrest was attributable to the attack.

Childe was arrested but refused to answer questions from police. 

He was initially charged with murder before later pleading guilty to manslaughter at Leeds Crown Court.

Jailing him for six years and eight months, Judge Tom Bayliss KC told Childe he had made a 'deliberate decision' to ride at Mr Starbuck because he had 'annoyed' him.

'You had been berated by the deceased for your behaviour,' he added.

'You deliberately rode your bike at the deceased. 

'I'm sure you did it to seek confrontation.

'You were seeking, in my judgement, to intimidate him.

'You intended to cause him harm.

'You thought it was not his place to tell you what to do. You made a deliberate decision to pick on an old man.'

He rejected any notion that Childe had remorse for his actions.

'You have shown not a trace of contrition for what you have done,' the judge told him.

Mr Starbuck was waiting for a bus near a Tesco supermarket at 6.30pm on October 29, 2025 when jobless Childe first rode past, the court heard.

Despite it being dark, and there being barely 4ft (1.3m) between the stop and a wall, Childe rode past him along the pavement without slowing down.

Mr Starbuck immediately rebuked him, to which Childe retorted: 'F*** off.'

But on his return from withdrawing cash, Childe cycled along the same route and deliberately 'rode into' Mr Starbuck, witnesses told police. 

He was later traced via CCTV and arrested. 

Cross-examining Childe at a trial of issue last week, prosecutor Sharon Beattie KC told him: 'You were angry with the old man who had told you not to ride your bike on the pavement without lights.'

In a victim impact statement read to the court, relatives of Mr Starbuck said: 'Our family feel distraught and distressed by the loss.'

Childe, of Garforth, later said he had been given advice by his solicitor at the time of his arrest not to comment. 

After his sentencing, Detective Superintendent Matt Holdsworth, of West Yorkshire Police, said: 'The thorough investigation conducted by our officers was able to prove that Childe was responsible for causing the needless death of Mr Starbuck, whose family are still coming to terms with their sudden loss.

'I hope today’s outcome will give them some comfort as they try to move forwards with their lives.'