British hit-and-run motorist, 46, is jailed for 22 years in Cyprus

A British man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison in Paphos, Cyprus for causing the death of a man after knocking him off his bike following an altercation outside a nightclub. 

The 46-year-old unnamed British man was sentenced on Tuesday for the manslaughter of 45-year-old Ioannis Polycarpou back in January. 

According to local reports, Polycarpou was at a local club in Paphos on January 21 when he got into an altercation with the British man. 

The row escalated dramatically as the night went on. After leaving the nightclub, Polycarpou was riding his motorcycle down Tomsbs of the Kings avenue in Paphos when a car slammed into the back of his motorcycle. 

View of a police car parked in the streets of Paphos, Cyprus. A British man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison in Paphos for causing the death of a man after knocking him off his bike following a nightclub row

Polycarpou was knocked off before the British man fled the scene.

He was rushed to Paphos General Hospital but was tragically pronounced dead on arrival. 

Hours later, the British man was found by police driving in his car, which reportedly had damage to it from the previous night’s collision with the biker. 

He is said to have  tried to cover it up with spray paint. He was also tested for narcotics, which came out positive.

The Brit was arrested and has remained in custody since his arrest. 

This is not the first time a Brit has been involved in a hit and run incident in Cyprus. Manraj Singh Sidhu, 26, was jailed for just 12 months in June this year for fatally hitting Swedish mother Camilla-Christina Pamdahl, 46, with a dune buggy in Ayia Napa

Ms Pamdahl, 46, was staying in Cyprus with her five-year-old daughter and had just left their family resort to buy food when she was killed

He was initially charged with premeditated murder , but the charges were later reduced to manslaughter. 

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter after a heated row that led him to intentionally strike motorcyclist Polycarpou. 

The tragic incident comes two years after another British man was sentenced to two and a half years in a Cypriot prison after being accused of running down and killing a Swedish mother whilst driving a beach buggy in the holiday party town of Ayia Napa, and then fleeing the scene.

Manraj Singh Sidhu, 25, appeared in court for allegedly killing Camilla Christina Pamdahl, 46, who suffered multiple injuries after being hit on a pedestrian crossing. 

The man was allegedly five times over the legal drink-drive limit and had cannabis in his blood when he ran the woman down.