A LORRY driver who killed a student nurse under the wheels of his cement mixer escaped with a £1,000 fine and 12-month driving ban.

Warren Fisher failed to notice cyclist Minal Kamdar, 22, and accelerated away crushing her in front of horrified on-lookers, Southwark Crown Court heard.

Fisher, aged 30, of Tunbury Avenue, Chatham, failed to check his blind spots and admitted careless driving.

Miss Kamdar pulled up next to Fisher's 27-tonne lorry in London's Tower Bridge Road on March 28 last year.

The court heard Fisher turned left at green traffic lights with Miss Kamdar between the kerb and the lorry.

Pam Oon, prosecuting, said: "The victim was caught by the lorry, lost her balance and went under the vehicle."

Charles Curtis, defending, said Miss Kamdar's death had a "devastating effect" on him.

Judge Robert Prendergast said the penalty left him with a "feeling of inadequacy".