Theatre agent cleared of dangerous driving after incident with cycling activist

A theatrical agent who drove for 65ft with a cycling activist on the bonnet of his Range Rover has been cleared of assault and dangerous driving after telling a jury the YouTuber “jumped” on his car.

Paul Lyon-Maris – who has represented Oscar-winner Colin Firth and Lord Of The Rings actor Sir Ian McKellen – was said to have lost his temper when Michael Van Erp tried to stop him driving on the wrong side of the road.

Southwark Crown Court heard that the 60-year-old had pulled out of a queue of traffic in the outer circle of Regent’s Park in central London during morning rush-hour on September 9 last year because he was late for a physiotherapy appointment.

Prosecutor James Dean said he “used his car as a weapon” in an act of “road rage” against Mr Van Erp – who is known for catching motorists, including ex-boxer Chris Eubank and film director Guy Ritchie, breaking road laws.

Video footage caught on Mr Van Erp’s GoPro head camera and selfie stick captured the 50-year-old road safety activist, who runs the CyclingMikey YouTube channel, being carried on the bonnet for some 65ft.

He told jurors he fell on to the vehicle “like a crash test dummy” when Mr Lyon-Maris drove at him twice before turning a corner and coming to a stop around 20 yards after the junction.

The agent, a director at Independent Talent Group, which boasts clients including James Bond star Daniel Craig, told jurors he felt “intimidated” when Mr Van Erp “jumped” on his bonnet.

Mr Lyon-Maris, from Belsize Park, north-west London, denied dangerous driving and common assault and was acquitted of both offences by a jury after three hours and 51 minutes of deliberations on Thursday.

He had previously pleaded guilty to ignoring a Keep Left sign to make a right turn and was fined at the magistrates’ court, the jury was told.

The judge, Recorder Jonathan Bellamy, said: “I wish Mr Lyon-Maris luck in his profession and elsewhere.”

Mr Van Erp, who works as a carer, told how he gained “notoriety” after broadcaster Jeremy Vine retweeted one of his videos of him on the bonnet of a silver Mercedes on the same stretch of road.

Dutch national Mr Van Erp, who was born in Zimbabwe, claims to have been responsible for hundreds of prosecutions against motorists.

Prosecutors dropped a charge of using a mobile phone while driving against football manager and former player Frank Lampard after he was filmed in traffic by the cyclist.

Mr Van Erp told the jury he accepted stepping out in front of vehicles is “risky” but added: “I look at it in the same way as taking the keys off a drink driver – I want to stop the immediate harm.”

In video footage of the incident played in court, he can be heard asking: “Why are you driving into me?”

Mr Lyon-Maris, whose partner of 33 years, Robin Muir, was in the passenger seat, is saying: “I have got an appointment at 8.30am” and “Get out of the way”, he jury heard.

He told police who arrived on the scene: “He threw himself on my bonnet.”

Giving evidence, Mr Lyon-Maris said he did not know who Mr Van Erp was or what he was doing when he stepped out in front of him, telling jurors: “I did not move forward. He jumped on to the bonnet, moved back and jumped on again.”

He said he was “surprised and a little intimidated” during the incident and insisted: “I’m not a person who becomes enraged.”

He added: “It was a potentially aggressive and dangerous man on my bonnet, and I thought the safest option was to move slowly forward into a road which had plenty of space and try to avoid anything else that might occur.”