GWENT police are warning motorists to make sure they clear their windscreens of ice during the cold snap.

The advice comes after motorist Arnaud Caudal, 27, was fined £500 for a crash which led to the death of a cyclist, at Newport crown court on Tuesday.

Caudal, formerly of Rogerstone but now of Cwmbran, collided with Rhiwderin cyclist Graham Price, a senior ambulance driver who was on his way to work, in December 2001.

He was cleared of causing Mr Price's death by driving dangerously, but convicted on a charge of careless driving. In addition to the fine he was banned from driving for six months.

Caudal told the court he had "deiced and scraped every window" of his car before leaving his Rogerstone home for work that morning.

He stopped at a bus stop minutes later to deice the windows again and had just sponged the inside of his misty windscreen when he hit Mr Price on the Risca bypass near Rogerstone.

But one officer who attended the scene said his windscreen visibility was poor, the court heard.

Following the verdicts, Gwent Police said drivers who failed to clean their windscreens of ice would still be charged with dangerous driving, regardless of whether they were involved in an accident.

Sergeant Gary Morgan said: "We do treat anybody driving with restricted vision through lack of clearing their windscreens extremely seriously.

"We advise people to get up that bit earlier and to run the car, get it warm and clear the windscreen before starting a journey.

"If they have started driving, and feel their vision restricted, they should stop, if it is safe, and clear the screen. I feel it is so important to get out to the motoring public the importance of taking that little bit of extra time in the morning to make sure their vision is good."