A driver who killed four cyclists when he ploughed into them on a Welsh road covered in black ice has been fined £180 for driving with three defective tyres.

Robert Harris, 47, who lost control of his Toyota Corolla near his home in Abergele on January 8, has also been given six penalty points on his licence.

Thomas Harland, 14, of Prestatyn, Dave Horrocks, 55, from Llanerch, Maurice Broadbent, 61, of Rhuddlan and Wayne Wilkes, 42, of Rhyl all died in the collision.

Thomas Harland's father, Jon Harland, suffered a broken leg as Harris hit the group of 12 from the Rhyll Cycling Club, while they were on a Sunday morning training ride.

Harris, who works as a security guard at retailer B&Q, was not present at the hearing at Llandudno Magistrates court today but pleaded to three counts of driving with defective tyres by post.

The magistrates found the three defective tyres - two on the front, one on the rear, were "not a contributory factor" to the accident.

Diane Williams, prosecuting, told the court a police investigation had established the defective tyres were not the cause of the crash.

"The Crown took the decision that in the circumstances, tyre tread is there to displace liquid debris from the road to give a better grip.

"In this situation, the examination has found there was no liquid there – it was black ice, consequently the defective tyres couldn’t have been a contributory factor to the collision.

Lion Williams, chairman of the magistrates bench fined Harris £60 for each of the counts and endorsed his driving licence with three points for the first two counts but none for the third.

"We are dealing with this case as we would any case involving defective tyres, where a guilty plea has been entered by post," he said.

"It has already been established in court that the three defective tyres were not a contributory factor to this tragic accident."

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