A driver has been jailed for deliberately ramming into a cyclist, leaving him with a punctured lung and several broken ribs, before driving away “smiling”.

Motorist William Heslop, 33, from Thorpe Willoughby, North Yorkshire, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was jailed for two years at York Crown Court on Friday.

He was also banned from driving for three years and will be unable to get back behind the wheel until he passes an extended test.

Video from a camera attached to the victim’s bike shows how Heslop cut him up at a crossroads, steered into his path and slammed on the brakes.

The cyclist, a 55-year-old electrical engineer commuting to work in Selby, North Yorkshire, swerved out of the way and narrowly avoided the car.

The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage Show all 10 1 /10 The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage 10 - Leeds Leeds Town Hall - 46 per cent of people in the city regularly experienced road rage Creative Commons The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage 9 - Birmingham Birmingham University - 46 per cent of people in the city regularly experienced road rage Creative Commons The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage 8 - Canterbury Canterbury Cathedral - 47 per cent of people in the city regularly experienced road rage Getty Images The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage 7 - Bristol A general view of Bristol - 51 per cent of people in the city regularly experienced road rage Matt Cardy/Getty Images The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage 6 - Wolverhampton St Peter's Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton - 52 per cent of people in the city regularly experienced road rage Creative Commons The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage 5 - Exeter The University of Exeter - 54 per cent of people in the city regularly experienced road rage Rex Features The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage 4 - Hull Hull - 54 per cent of people in the city regularly experienced road rage Getty The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage 3 - Peterborough Peterborough Cathedral - 54 per cent of people in the town regularly experienced road rage Commons/Wikipedia/Dzlinker The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage 2 - Portsmouth The HMS Illustrious sails into her home port of Portsmouth - 60 per cent of people in the city regularly experienced road rage Nathan Dua/PA Wire The UK's top ten worst towns and cities for road rage 1 - Lincoln An exterior view of Lincoln Cathedral - the city is the worst culprit for road rage in the UK, with 61 per cent of people in the city regularly experienced road rage Getty

But Heslop caught up with him seconds later and rammed him off the road.

Heslop fled the scene. According to a passer-by who saw the incident, he had a smile on his face.

The court heard the incident happened in Selby on the morning of 26 June 2018.

Investigating officer PC Richard Stagg said: “It’s not quite clear what Heslop hoped to achieve by his intimidating and ultimately dangerous behaviour towards the cyclist.

“But I hope this case sends a clear message to motorists who think they can get away with such aggressive behaviour towards other road users.

“We urge everyone to share the road and be courteous to each other, otherwise you could end up in prison with a criminal record that will have a long-term knock-on effect on other aspects of your life.”

Additional reporting by SWNS