A driver who ploughed into a headteacher who was cycling home from school and dragged him, trapped under his car, for more than a mile has been jailed for life.Simon Richardson, who ignored give-way signs at a junction before the collision, was told he must serve a minimum of 25 years after a jury last week found him guilty of murder.His victim, Michael Mullins, 56, was remembered by his family as their “anchor”. His wife said her life had been “brutally and callously torn apart”.Jailing Richardson, 35, on Monday, Mrs Justice Brunner KC said the defendant had shown an “astonishing degree of disregard for human life”.She said: “For every moment you carried on, you were knowingly using your heavy vehicle to cause serious injury to a man who was trapped, injured and completely helpless as a result of your actions.“You did that because you decided escaping from the scene of an accident was more important than a human life.”Michael Mullins, 56, was cycling home from Stretford grammar school in Greater Manchester, where he was the headteacher, when he was struck by a Volvo XC90 driven by Simon Richardson.

Photograph: GMP/PAMullins was cycling home from Stretford grammar school on the evening of 20 April when the 4x4 Richardson was driving crashed into him. He hit the bonnet and windscreen of Richardson’s Volvo XC90 and then went under it, becoming entangled in the suspension.Richardson continued to drive for more than a mile, knowing that the trapped cyclist was just inches under his feet, a trial at Manchester Minshull Street crown court heard.Simon Richardson, 35, has been jailed for life.

Photograph: GMP/PARichardson had denied knowing the father of two was under his car but the prosecutor Phil Barnes KC said the defendant knew, “and he inevitably knew what the consequences of driving on would be, and he did it anyway”.Richardson’s front-seat passenger, his cousin Gabrielle Debotte, told the trial they had both heard “moaning” from outside as he drove away from the collision scene. Giving evidence for the prosecution, she said Richardson went on to say: “He’s under the car.”The collision happened in the village of Warburton in Trafford, Greater Manchester.

The court heard Richardson, of no fixed address, drove to a secluded farm track in Lymm, 1.3 miles away, in an attempt to dislodge Mullins.After he stopped, Richardson twice tried to pull Mullins out, before returning to the car and driving sharply and deliberately from side to side before mounting a grass verge, the court heard. Mullins was finally released but was then driven over again as Richardson reversed and drove away.A motorcyclist followed a trail of blood from the collision spot and discovered Mullins alone and barely breathing on the grass verge, the court heard.

Emergency services attended but were unable to save Mullins, from Northwich, Cheshire, who died from multiple injuries.Members of Mullins’s family were in tears when the jury delivered its verdict.Addressing the court on Monday Mullins’s wife, Sarah, spoke of an “all-consuming lethargy that makes it feel difficult to put one foot in front of another” since his death.She said: “My past, present and future have been brutally and callously torn apart, my present is empty and often seems to be without purpose.“The fact that Michael had to endure such a violent and painful death is an open wound that refuses to heal. I am, we are, completely adrift and bereft without our anchor, Michael Mullins.”Michael Mullins was ‘beloved in his community, his school, by his family and friends’.

Photograph: GMP/PAThe acting head of Stretford grammar school, Elizabeth Baxter, said it had been an “honour and a privilege” to work alongside Mullins, who led the school for 17 years. Describing him as an inspirational leader, she said: “He has left a void and a gulf at every level of our school.”Barnes told the court Richardson had previous convictions for 28 offences, with a “significant history” of driving-related crimes including careless driving and failure to stop or report an accident in 2011, driving with excess alcohol and driving whilst disqualified in 2012, and driving whilst disqualified and uninsured in 2013.

In 2023, he had been convicted of driving without a licence and insurance.Det Ch Insp Louise Edwards, of Greater Manchester police, said Richardson chose to “take Michael’s life in one of the most horrific ways I have ever seen”.She said his family should be “proud of the courage they have shown” and added: “Do not remember the offender who has been found guilty of his murder.“Remember Michael – beloved in his community, his school, by his family and friends – a man who should have come home safe and sound to his family but will be remembered forever in the legacy he has left behind.”