The killing of Eilidh Cairns

After Eilidh's death on February 5 last year, truck driver Joao Lopes, 53, was charged with driving while his eyesight was such that he could not comply with requirements of a prescribed eye test. His trial opened at Kingston magistrates' court on Friday and was adjourned until October.

No one saw the crash that killed Eilidh but an inquest heard that it was probable she had been in front of the truck, which was travelling at about 9mph. Her sister said: “The fact is that the two vehicles are incompatible, there was nothing she could do. But this is not about one individual and his eyesight, there is a systemic failure to protect the most vulnerable by the police, the CPS, the coroner and the industries that put these vehicles on tight roads without proper safety equipment.