Farmer cleared over accident with horse which injured rider
A farmer has been cleared by magistrates of causing a collision in a country lane that left a horse and its rider badly injured.
Martin Pain, 50, was found not guilty of driving without due care and attention in Chorley, near Bridgnorth, on May 31 last year following a trial in Telford.
He was at the wheel of a blue pick-up truck pulling a trailer that struck the horse George and his owner Emily Fieldhouse, 43, as it passed them near Chorley Hall.
The rider suffered a severe elbow injury causing her temporary paralysis while the horse suffered a broken pelvis, cuts and two broken shoes caused by the vehicle running over his right hooves during the collision that happened at about 1.45pm near the Northwood Lane junction.
Giving evidence under oath Ms Fieldhouse said she had given “a clear hand signal” to Mr Pain to stop, but he carried on attempting to pass her and another rider Hayley Heeley resulting in the collision.
Under cross-examination Mr Brendan Reedy, defending, put to her that a report by an equine expert stating that George had previously been involved in a road traffic accident and had a history of “rearing and spinning” had been amended and that information had been removed in a second report submitted to the police.
Ms Fieldhouse replied that the original report giving details about the horse was incorrect and that she gave the investigating officer both versions.
“I can’t understand why there is inaccurate stuff in the report,” Ms Fieldhouse added.
Giving evidence defendant Mr Pain said: “She may have used a hand signal, but I didn’t see it. I glanced in my mirror to see if there were any other vehicles behind me.”
He said the lane was wide enough for two vehicles to pass and that he did stop. He said he did not get out of the pick-up to help the women with the horses because Ms Fieldhouse was being verbally abusive.
Chairman of the bench Mrs Lesley Thirlwell said: “It is unclear whether the defendant passed too close so that he hit the horse with his trailer or whether the horse was already skittish and stepped out into the path of the trailer, or a combination of the two. So it’s not possible to say beyond reasonable doubt how the collision happened. Therefore, we find the defendant not guilty.”
Three further allegations of failing to give his name, failing to report an accident and failing to stop against Pain, of Green Lane, Stottesdon near Kidderminster were dismissed by the magistrates.
The court heard that the horse had recovered from its injuries and was not being taken out on roads.
