The widow of a mechanic killed as he cycled home from work today slammed a decision not to jail the guilty driver as a “travesty of justice”.

Clifton James, 60, was knocked off his bike by Mishal Alshammary as he crossed a mini-roundabout in Harrow in June 2015. The father of three suffered head injuries and died at the scene.

Alshammary, 32, who failed to slow down before entering the roundabout on Forward Drive, admitted causing death by careless driving.

He was yesterday sentenced at the Old Bailey to four months in prison, suspended for a year, and ordered to carry out 300 hours of community service.

Mr James’s widow Sandra criticised the decision not to jail Alshammary, accusing him of showing “no remorse for taking Cliff away from us”.

She said: “He has put us through hell by not admitting his crime until 20 months after the crash. Now, for him to walk away from court a free man is nothing short of a travesty of justice.”

The court heard Mr James had once been awarded a police bravery award for tackling a mugger in the street, but did not collect it because he did not want a fuss.

“Cliff was the most kind, generous and thoughtful man who would do anything for anybody,” added Mrs James. “He was quite simply one of the nicest men you could ever meet and his passing has left a huge hole in our lives. To us he was our idol and our hero and he will always be missed.”

The court heard the scene of the crash was disturbed as paramedics fought in vain to save Mr James, thwarting investigators’ attempts to gather evidence.

Prosecutors accused Alshammary of speeding prior to the crash, at about midnight on June 20, but later accepted he had not broken the 30mph limit.

“The sentence doesn’t try to place any kind of value on Mr James’ life — that is beyond measure,” said Judge Anthony Bate. Alshammary, from Willesden, was banned from driving for 15 months.