The lorry driver whose dustcart crushed a student cyclist to death today defended his driving.

Trevor Ashworth, who denies careless driving, told Judge Brian Loosley at Wantage Magistrates' Court his memory of the collision, in which Tsz Fok died, was hazy.

But he denied the prosecution's case that his mirror was incorrectly adjusted.

Ashworth, 31, of Theale, near Reading, Berkshire, told the court that he checked his mirrors before making the left-hand turn at the junction of Broad Street and Parks Road in Oxford last April.

He said he had overtaken Mr Fok, 22, and another cyclist shortly before the collision.

He said: "They were in no danger while I sat there (at the traffic lights) and they would have been in no danger while I performed my manouevre if they had remained where they were.

"When I looked in the mirror, I saw a grey patch of tarmac."

Gavin Hernandez, prosecuting, alleged that Ashworth had seen the grey interior of the lorry.

Ashworth told the court about the moment he discovered he had run over Mr Fok.

He said: "I felt just like a pothole, I just heard like a commotion. When I got out, I could see something in the road."

He denied using his mobile phone at the time of the crash or being distracted by his satelite navigation system.

The trial continues.