‘A lesson to highway customers’: jail for lorry driver who killed a horse in motorway collision

A driver who killed a horse when his lorry ploughed right into a broken-down horsebox has been despatched to jail and banned from the highway.

Nicholas Cole, of Harrison Street, Wordsley, Stourbridge, pleaded responsible to driving dangerously, at Northampton Magistrates Courtroom in February. Final week (9 Could) he was sentenced, at Northampton Crown Courtroom, to 42 weeks in jail and suspended from driving for 21 months.

The 47-year-old was driving north on the M1 at about 6.30pm on 17 July final 12 months, between junctions 14 and 15. Nationwide Highways had closed lane one of many motorway because the horsebox had damaged down.

“Nonetheless, regardless of a crimson X gantry signal and the truth that highways officers had parked a automobile a brief distance behind the horsebox which displayed flashing amber and crimson lights, Cole failed to maneuver out of lane one,” a Northamptonshire Police spokesman mentioned.

“Realising on the final second, he tried to steer his lorry out of the trail of the stationary automobiles, nonetheless clipped the highways automobile earlier than crashing straight into the horsebox.

“Fortunately, the driving force and passengers have been ready on the financial institution and have been unhurt, nonetheless their horse was sadly killed.”

The spokesman mentioned that on the scene, Cole mentioned he had been listening to the radio and “the subsequent factor he knew, he noticed the highways automobile and swerved to keep away from it”.

PS Richard Hill from Northamptonshire Police’s roads policing workforce mentioned: “As individuals will have the ability to see from the footage, this was a surprising collision that sadly resulted in a horse being killed.

“It’s a stark instance of how essential it’s to maintain your concentrate on the highway while you’re driving and to make sure you learn the gantry indicators displayed on the motorway. Cole would have had loads of time to see the crimson X and but nonetheless precipitated this collision.

“I hope this sentence is a lesson to him and to different highway customers. Driving a automobile is a giant duty and it’s paramount that you’re at all times conscious of your environment.”

You may also be thinking about:

Horse & Hound journal, out each Thursday, is full of all the most recent information and reviews, in addition to interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and coaching recommendation. Discover how one can get pleasure from the journal delivered to your door each week, plus choices to improve your subscription to entry our on-line service that brings you breaking information and reviews in addition to different advantages.

H&H information editor

Eleanor is an skilled journalist who spent over eight years working for native and nationwide newspapers earlier than becoming a member of H&H as information editor in March 2016. Keen about equine welfare and exposing the reality, Eleanor has reported on all facets of the business, from Brexit to anti-bullying campaigns, and from dressage guidelines to mules. Her sport of alternative is showjumping, by which she competes her personal horses, and he or she additionally enjoys reporting at native leaping exhibits via to worldwide championships.