‘I was on the phone with my son as he was hit by a car’

Harry Webb with his parents Mike and Patricia (Picture: Wales News Service)

As cyclist Harry Webb was killed, he was on the phone with his parents, thanking them for helping him move into his new flat just hours before.

Harry, a master’s student at the London College of Contemporary Music, moved in with a friend from university the morning of his death with the help of his parents Patricia and Mike in September 2023.

They had driven four hours from the family home in Crickhowell, Wales, to help their only child feel settled in Hackney.

Patricia told Metro: ‘It was a boiling hot day, but we managed to get all of his stuff in. We then took him for lunch, and we said goodbye, thinking we were going to see in just a few days when he comes to visit home.’

They did the long drive back home, and were finally sat relaxing on their patio, when Harry, 27, rang.

Using his hands-free device with his helmet on, he wanted to say thank you to his parents as he cycled from his new place.

‘But then it all went silent,’ Patricia said.

Harry was ‘incredibly intelligent’ and had just started the second year of his master’s degree (Picture: PA) He had moved in with a friend from university the morning of his death (Picture: Wales News Service)

Sensing something was wrong, the parents began screaming, in the hope he will come back to the phone. Instead, a stranger began speaking to them.

Patricia said: ‘They just said there had been a crash, and for a while all we could hear were sirens.’

Harry had been hit by Tifffany Treanor-Johnson, 27. She was driving at 53mph on a 20mph road, and inhaled nitrous oxide before getting behind the wheel of her Audi.

Despite travelling from Crickhowell, to London, and back again that day, the parents jumped straight back in the car.

It was during this drive that they received a call from Harry’s surgeon. He told them to pull over, before saying Harry did not have much time left.

Tiffany Treanor-Johnson has been sentenced to 10 years (Picture: Wales News Service)

Before midnight, they were back in London, at their son’s bedside. They stayed there for another two days, before Harry died.

Patricia said: ‘It’s so unfortunate his life was taken away from him. It’s the stupidity of it all, which really upsets us.’

They described their son as ‘incredibly bright, incredibly unique and incredibly loved’.

He studied maths and philosophy at Bristol, before deciding to do a Master’s in music production in the capital.

His mum Patricia said: ‘He was a star pupil without trying. He got five A-Levels just because he wanted to do.’

Harry was also a passionate cyclist, insisting he ‘did not need a car in London’ and was ‘very safety conscious’ always reminding people to wear helmets.

Despite wearing his own, he suffered a serious head injury, with doctors removing part of his skull in an attempt to ease the swelling on his brain.

After Harry died, police showed them the footage of the scene. Treanor-Johnson had left the scene, and turned into a side street, hitting another car.

It was up to the other drivers to do a police style stop to get them to stop driving.

Treanor-Johnson was jailed for 10 years on Friday. She had initially denied causing death by dangerous driving before admitting her guilt in April this year.

In a statement outside court, Mike called for road crimes to be taken more seriously and enforcement to be stepped up.

He said: ‘Nobody should be killed cycling within a 20mph area in London, it is totally unacceptable.

‘The ripples caused by his death have been immense for so many people unable to come to terms with this senseless road crime.’

Harry has been awarded his master’s degree posthumously.

‘He had his life planned out,’ ‘Patricia said. ‘He was so happy. People warmed to him, because he was fearless but without any arrogance.’

She added: ‘So many people have come forward to say how much they loved him. He brough a dollop of generosity and sunshine to everything he did.’

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