A YOUNG motorist whose friend died in a horrifying high-speed crash on the Wigton bypass has been cleared on causing his death by dangerous driving.

It took a Carlisle Crown Court jury 48 minutes to return their unanimous not guilty verdict on 27-year-old Liam Dixon.

The prosecution had claimed that the accident which caused the death of his friend Steven Parker, 23, was the result of the two men engaging in a high-speed chase.

Part way through the trial, Dixon, of Throstle Avenue, Greenacres, Wigton, admitted driving dangerously.

But he has refused to accept his driving caused Mr Parker's death.

Throughout this week, the jury heard evidence about the accident, which happened shortly before 5pm on February 3, 2018.

The prosecution claimed the tragedy was the inevitable result of a "chase" which saw the two cars involved - Mr Parker's white BMW and Mr Dixon's modified Vauxhall Corsa - reach a speed of at least 100mph and possibly more.

Mr Parker died after he lost control of his car.

It crashed off the road, demolishing two trees.

Summing up the evidence, Recorder Michael Duck QC had told the jury Dixon accepted saying his memory of the accident was a "blur" when interviewed by police.

He also accepted driving faster than 100mph, said the judge.

But the defendant insisted there was nothing about his driving that encouraged Mr Parker to drive as he did.

The judge said: "He denied there had been a 'face off' between them and didn't know exactly what speed he had been doing; he said he had been concentrating on the road ahead."

The defendant refuted that he was trying to go as fast as he could.

As he outlined the prosecution case, barrister Stuart Neale said Mr Parker and the defendant had shared an interest in fast and powerful cars.

“Their circle of friends had similar interests in powerful cars,” he said.

“It was part of their leisure time to take their cars on to the roads of Cumbria and engage in high-speed chases and high-speed jousts,” he said.

A Cumbria police accident investigation expert said that at the time of the accident, the two cars were travelling at between 100mph and 118mph - and possibly more.

Dixon had admitted that he and Mr Parker - whose car was videoed driving at almost 140mph on the day of the accident - had gone out "lapping Wigton."

The prosecutor said: "The Crown say there was more to this because what was going on here was a ludicrously high-speed joust from which it would be obvious to any careful and prudent driver that death was a likely consequence."

Dixon repeatedly insisted there was no "duel", or "chase".

He also denied braking while Mr Parker's BMW was close behind him, moments before the crash.

Dixon will be sentenced at the crown court tomorrow.

After the tragedy, Mr Parker's devastated family paid tribute to him, saying he had a hear of gold. His sister Natasha Parker said: "Steven was a big family man - family meant everything to him. He'd bend over backwards and was always the first one there if you needed him."