A 24-year-old woman from Arnhem has been given 150 hours community service for causing a fatal accident while using her mobile phone.

The young women cycled into an 83-year-old woman who was using a walking aid, knocking her to the ground. The elderly woman sustained a skull fracture and a broken pelvis and died in hospital two days later.

The defendant told judges in Arnhem during the trial two weeks ago that she had been putting her phone away when the woman appeared from nowhere on the cycle path.

However, one witness told the court they had seen the woman on the cycle path before the accident happened.

The public prosecution department had called for 180 hours of community service or a 90 day jail term. The court opted for a shorter sentence because the defendant was a first time offender.