THE devastated parents of cyclist Terry Brown killed in Bold Heath have revealed the never-ending heartache they must now learn to live with as they come to terms with life without their son.

Ellen and David Brown welcomed the news that Michael Rollason, of Wootton Street, Bedworth, Warwickshire, had been given the maximum sentence of seven years in prison as dictated by law after it was graded as a level two offence.

Terry, aged 47, was cycling along the A57 Warrington Road, Bold Heath, when he was hit by a car at 6.35am on February 18, 2014.

The force of the collision was so severe, that Mr Brown's bike was found in two pieces on top of a hedge.

Before his arrest, Rollason found time to call his insurance company where he lied about the details of the crash.

He told police he thought he had hit a wheelie bin.

He chose not to give evidence at Liverpool Crown Court this week but was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving after a five-day trial.

Mr Brown's parents said no sentence would be enough as their lives will never be the same again.

Wearing a gold necklace which contains her son’s ashes, his mum Ellen, aged 67, described how relief washed over her when she heard the guilty verdict.

She said: “I feel relieved. I feel as though we can all grieve in private now for Terry.

“Now we are at a point where we can try to move on but that does not mean we will ever stop thinking and missing Terry.

“He may have got seven years but we have got a life sentence.”

The couple, who live in Manchester, have attended each court hearing but now have to face the reality of never finding out the truth.

“We will never know what happened to him. We will never have the answers we want,” she said.

The dark days following Terry’s death have been difficult to endure but the family have been given some comfort after learning that their son, who was registered as a donor, has helped to save the lives of two strangers after his kidneys and liver went on to help two others.

“We have been told that the two recipients are recovering well. Terry has always been a generous person,” said David, aged 71.

While the trial has been an agonising five day wait for the verdict, the couple have revealed how they found faith in an unlikely place.

Ellen said: “We got a taxi with Excel Private Hire each day to court from the hotel in Liverpool.

“When the taxi driver picked us up he asked us where we were going and why.

“He was a lovely man and he refused to take any money from us when he heard what had happened and when he picked us up again he did the same.

“After all we have been through it gave us faith in the human race. We did not know him from Adam but he showed us compassion.”