A 35-year-old woman has escaped with a suspended jail sentence after causing the death of a motorcyclist.

Lucy Bentley admitted causing death by careless driving and was sentenced at Lincoln Magistrates' Court to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

Bentley, of Begy Gardens, Greetham was travelling east on Elm Avenue from Witham on the Hill towards its junction with the A6121 just after midday on Sunday 9 March 2025 intending to go straight across towards Manthorpe.

Meanwhile, Gary Skellett, 61, was riding his Suzuki GSF Bandit motorcycle south on the A6121 towards Carlby and approaching the same crossroads.

A third vehicle was stationary on the main road facing towards Toft waiting to turn right towards Manthorpe and had seen two motorcycles approaching.

Bentley on having reached the junction, stopped at the give way line before pulling out into the path of Mr Skellett, having failed to see him approaching. He was riding the second of the two motorcycles that the witness had seen, albeit they were travelling independently of each other.

Mr Skellett, an experienced rider, died at the scene.

Following an extensive investigation by Lincolnshire Police's Serious and Forensic Collision Investigation Units, Bentley was charged with the one offence that she was sentenced for at court yesterday.

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It was established during the investigation that Bentley had stopped at the junction and set off two seconds before the collision occurred.

Witnesses described the motorcycle as travelling within the speed limit and consequently would have been visible to Bentley as she moved off.

When Bentley emerged from the junction, Mr Skellett was unable to take any avoiding action and a collision was inevitable.

In interview, Bentley confirmed that she knew the road, was not in a hurry and was heading towards Manthorpe.

She stated that when she got to the junction, traffic was passing, and there was a vehicle from the Stamford direction that was waiting on the main road to turn right to Manthorpe village.

She stated that she looked both ways, thinking that the vehicle waiting to turn was allowing her to go first and that she did not see the motorbike approaching.

Detective Sergeant Kate Johnston, from the force's Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "This collision occurred when Bentley failed to look properly as she emerged at a junction into the path of an oncoming motorbike.

"In short, as evidenced by other witnesses, Mr Skellett was there to be seen, was riding normally and had no opportunity to avoid the collision which occurred.

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"Regrettably, we see this situation repeatedly where motorbikes are just not seen.

"We would therefore remind everyone to THINK BIKE. Just ensuring you look properly when emerging at junctions or making any manoeuvre, will help prevent future tragedies such as this one."

Bentley having admitted causing death by careless driving was sentenced at Lincoln Magistrates' Court to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.

She must also undertake 20 days of community rehabilitation activities and was banned from driving for a total of two years and must take an extended re-test before being allowed to drive again.