Gasps from the public gallery met news that an alleged ‘furious’ cyclist will not stand trial until next summer.

Edward Bressan, 55, is accused of causing injury to 81-year-old Polly Friedhoff on the River Thames towpath last November by cycling ‘wantonly or furiously’.

Ms Friedhoff, who retired from her job as St Antony’s College’s first public relations and development officer in the mid-2000s, was said to have been knocked to the ground during the collision near Iffley Lock on November 20.

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She died in hospital 12 days after the crash.

Appearing before Oxford Crown Court on Thursday (September 7), Bressan, of Newton Road, Oxford, pleaded not guilty to a single count of causing bodily harm by wanton or furious driving, an offence under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act.

There were audible gasps from the public gallery, where members of Ms Friedhoff’s family was seated with police officers, when the court was told there was no space to list the trial until July next year.

Judge Ian Pringle KC said: “I appreciate to all those who have a very marked interest in this case that it seems a very long time but you will appreciate in cases where there is a custody time limit, in other words the defendant is remanded in custody, we have to prioritise those.”

Oxford Mail: The crash happened on November 20, 2022, on the Thames path near IffleyThe crash happened on November 20, 2022, on the Thames path near Iffley (Image: Oxford Mail)

He said that, combined with the effects of the pandemic, there were delays in getting trials heard in courts around the country.

“The waiting time in this court for what it’s worth is considerably less than it is in some courts,” he said.

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The defendant, whose surname was spelled in the court list as Breesan, was granted unconditional bail to return to court on July 8 for the trial.

Sebastian Cox appeared for the defendant. The Crown Prosecution Service was represented by Andrew Jordan.

Last year, the warden of St Antony’s College, Prof Roger Goodman, described Ms Friedhoff as a ‘one-off who was loved by all’. “She will be dreadfully missed,” he said in his obituary.