A ROMANIAN van driver has lost his appeal against deportation after he was jailed for causing the death of cyclist and Team GB triathlete Rebecca Comins in a crash near Raglan.

Vasile Barbu, who lived in Abergavenny, was delivering furniture to a driver in Calais when he hit the mother-of-two’s bike in June 2022 during a cycling time trial on the A40.

The cyclists had been taking part in the race after meeting at the Hardwick restaurant lay-by at 7pm.

Vasile Barbu haș been jailed for four years
Vasile Barbu haș been jailed for four years. Photo: Gwent Police (Gwent Police)

The 52-year-old cyclist had been just nine minutes into the event when she was hit from behind. She died at the scene.

Barbu drove straight into the back of Comins rather than move into an empty lane of the dual carriageway the court heard.

The 47-year-old was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for four years.

He later challenged a decision to deport him from the UK, arguing that his family circumstances and long-standing life in Britain should allow him to remain.

But an immigration tribunal has rejected his appeal at a hearing in Newport.

Immigration judge Ian Boyes concluded that the seriousness of Barbu’s offending meant the public interest in his removal outweighed his family and private-life circumstances. The tribunal also found that his adult children were not dependent on him and that removing him to Romania would not be unduly harsh.

Rebecca, who lived in Caldicot, was a member of Caldicot Running Club and had a close association with Caldicot RFC, working as a first aider and masseur for the first team.

Rebecca was a member of Newport Phoenix Cycling Club and Monmouth Triathlon Club and represented the Great Britain Age Group Team at the European Triathlon Championships in Tartu in 2018 and the World Championships in Lausanne in 2019.

She was also the Vintage Veteran Champion of the Welsh Triathlon Super Series.

The time trial was organised by Monmouthshire Wheelers. Her son George was also taking part in the fatal event.

The circumstances of the crash were examined during Barbu’s criminal trial. Evidence showed that there was space for the van to move into another lane, but it instead collided with Rebecca’s bicycle. The van was also found to have been unfit for the road and overloaded.

The crash featured in BBC One’s Crash Detectives as part of the fifth series. With the van driver under arrest and facing serious questions, Sergeant Cath Raine of Gwent Police was called in to investigate the final moments of the cyclist’s journey. But the collision happened on a concrete road, with barely a trace of evidence on its surface.

Rebecca, who worked for the Aneurin Bevan Health Board, won the women’s title in the Cardiff 100 Miles TT 15-mile cycling time-trial on the same stretch of road in February.

After her death, Rebecca’s family described her as a caring and loving wife to Stephen and an amazing mother to George and Millie. They said she had been taken from them while doing something she loved.