Wiltshire man who killed biker caught by own dashcam footage

A man who admitted deliberately killing a motorcyclist was caught by his own dashcam footage, police said.

Paul Barrett, 43, of White Road in Mere, rammed Ryan Brindley’s motorbike on 22 December 2021.

He seemingly targeted Mr Brindley “entirely at random” and was charged after police viewed “footage from the car Barrett was driving”.

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Barrett pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility at Winchester Crown Court.He had been repeatedly driving through Dinton, Wiltshire, at more than double the speed limit before targeting the 43-year-old motorcyclist.

Mr Brindley died at the scene of the collision on Hindon Road and was described by his family as “one-of-a-kind”.

Speeding in village

Barrett remains in custody and awaits sentencing in the week starting 30 January – with an exact date yet to be set.On the evening of the incident, Barrett had left an address in Mere, driving a Volkswagen Touran, to apparently travel to Wilton for a pre-arranged appointment.However, dashcam footage from that vehicle showed him driving through the village of Dinton a number of times, reaching speeds of up to 80mph in a 30mph zone.He then saw Mr Brindley riding in the opposite direction, so turned around and followed him, driving at high speed to catch him up.Barrett then deliberately collided with the rear of the motorcycle, carrying it along the road and causing Mr Brindley to fall onto the ground.Barrett was arrested and taken to hospital for assessment before being taken into police custody.

An ‘unprovoked incident’

Det Ch Insp Simon Childe said: “The killing of Ryan Brindley appears to have been an entirely random and unprovoked incident.”When we were able to watch the dashcam footage from the car Barrett was driving, it was clear that he was driving around the Dinton area and then changed direction to follow Ryan when he spotted his motorcycle.”We do not believe they were known to each other, or that there had been any previous interaction between the pair. It seems that Ryan was targeted entirely at random.”

Source: BBC