A VAN driver who hit a cyclist before leaving him dying in the road has been jailed.

Richard White, who was 70, suffered serious head injuries in the crash, which took place on the A338 Salisbury Road on April 28.

He was taken to Southampton General Hospital, but died of his injuries on Wednesday, May 18.

Mr White, of Downton, near Salisbury, was struck by a white Ford Transit-style van, which was being driven by Noah Chapman, 23.

However, Chapman failed to stop after the crash, and "did everything he could to try and get away with what he'd done", police say.

He got rid of the van and his mobile phone, provided a false statement and even bought a new vehicle to try and escape justice.

Officers serving with the serious collision investigation unit launched an extensive operation to try and track Chapman down, searching through hours of CCTV footage and examining mobile phone data.

The defendant, of Odstock Road in Salisbury, was eventually arrested and charged.

He admitted causing death by careless driving and perverting the course of justice in early December.

He appeared again before a judge at Southampton Crown Court today, Friday, December 23, where he was sentenced to a total of three years behind bars.

Chapman was also disqualified from driving for five and a half years.

PC Lucy Hawkins said: “This was a hugely complex investigation but our team was determined to get this irresponsible and careless driver off the road before anyone else was hurt.

“Chapman did everything he could to try and get away with what he had done, even once it was revealed that his actions had killed a man.

“He disposed of the vehicle, his mobile phone, provided a false statement and a false document to try and support his story and even bought a new vehicle and changed his insurance, backdating it to before the collision, all in the hope of escaping detection.

“But despite the challenges we faced during this investigation, our team put together such overwhelming evidence that he had no choice but to plead guilty to the charges.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank those members of the public who responded to our appeals for help and to local businesses who provided CCTV to assist with our investigation.

“We hope that this case clearly demonstrates that fleeing the scene of a collision does not pay and how seriously we take this sort of crime no matter what challenges we are confronted with.”