Councillor fined after hitting pedestrians with car wing mirror
Brian Lawn, councillor for Caister South ward at Great Yarmouth Borough Council - Credit: James Bass
A Norfolk borough councillor has been fined after injuring two pedestrians while driving.
Brian Lawn had been charged with driving without due care and attention following the collision in Caister, on August 10 last year.
The 74-year-old did not attend Ipswich Magistrates' Court on Thursday, May 20, for the hearing, but had previously submitted a guilty plea to the court.
Ipswich Magistrates Court on Elm Street. - Credit: Sarah Lucy brown
The court heard how Mr Lawn, of Fairway, Caister, had been driving his Mercedes 250 on Beach Road when he swerved into a group of between six and eight people walking at around 11.30am.
He clipped one of the group with his wing mirror, before hitting a second person with the body of his car, causing the duo minor injuries including bruising and discomfort.
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Mr Lawn, a Conservative councillor for the Caister South ward on Great Yarmouth Borough Council, had a clean driving licence prior to the incident, the court heard.
A statement sent to the court by Mr Lawn with his guilty plea said: "I would like to apologise for my actions, and for the embarrassment I have caused to my family and myself.
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"I hit the men with my car so I must be guilty of this offence.
"At the time, I had my two great-grandchildren and wife in the car and I thought I was driving very carefully, but it would appear I am no good at judging distances.
"It all happened very quickly but it was a genuine mistake and one I will never forget."
Witness statements claimed Mr Lawn only stopped once alerted to the collision by passers-by, although he told the court he was looking for a safe space to stop and said it would have been "foolish" for him to drive away with so many witnesses.
The case had initially been listed at Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court in February, but was moved to Ipswich because of Mr Lawn's past stint as a Justice of the Peace, as well as his friendship with several members of the Norfolk magistrates' bench.
Magistrates in Ipswich fined Mr Lawn £318 and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £34 and court costs of £110. They also imposed six penalty points on his licence.
