Ban for driver who injured cyclist in Budleigh

A pensioner who knocked a cyclist off his bike as he drove past him has been banned from driving.

Andrew Bashforth would not wait for a pair of cyclists to pull over as he drove through Budleigh Salterton and got so close to one of them that the rider had to put out his arm to warn him off.

The 81-year-old driver pulled up briefly near the scene of the accident in the High Street, but then drove away again without giving his details, leaving the victim with horrific injuries.

The cyclist broke a hip and a shoulder and needed reconstructive surgery on his thumb. At one point he had both arms in a sling.

Bashforth told passers-by he was going to the nearby snooker club, where police found him at a meeting shortly afterwards. He denied he had knocked the cyclist off his bike deliberately.

Widower Bashforth, from Woodbury, admitted careless driving and was disqualified for six months and fined £400 by Judge David Evans at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him there had been ‘a degree of impatience’ in his driving and he should have given the cyclist more space as he passed.

Felicity Payne, prosecuting, said the accident happened in February 2019 and left the victim needing a hip replacement and surgery on his arm and thumb.

Emily Pitts, defending, said Bashforth had stopped at the scene but left because he felt threatened by the other cyclist who was with Mr Turnbull.

She said Bashforth’s wife died shortly after this incident and he lives alone in Woodbury and will have difficulty seeing his family if he is unable to drive. He had a faultless driving record going back 60 years until this accident.