A pensioner told a jury today he was not chasing a 15-year-old boy minutes before the teenager died when his bike hit a telegraph pole.

Jack Binns is on trial at Bradford Crown Court accused of causing the death of Adrian Gilhooly by dangerous driving.

Binns, 73, of Haycliffe Road, Little Horton, Bradford, is alleged to have pursued Adrian and his three friends in his car shortly before the youngster lost control of his bike.

Adrian died on Wood Lane, a steep hill in Halifax, on May 1 last year.

He was riding a friend's pedal cycle with a wobbly front wheel and no brakes.

Adrian's bike bounced downhill end over end after he was flung off.

Binns told the court today he saw some lads messing about round his car. One was sitting on the bonnet.

Binns said he shouted at them to leave it alone.

"I have been in the Army and I have a loud voice," he said.

Binns said the boys pedalled off and he got into his car shortly afterwards to visit a local shop.

The boys were ahead of him on Ovenden Wood Road and the closest he got to them was "two or three houses away".

They turned down a hill and he carried on towards Halifax.

"I wasn't wanting to catch up with them at all. If I had wanted to catch up with them, I could have done so in seconds," he said.

Binns said he was not speeding or swerving in the road.

"I never chased those boys along the road. Never. I've got children of my own," he told the jury.

Binns denies causing death by dangerous driving and an alternative charge of dangerous driving.

The trial continues.