Kirkby man drove off after injuring moped rider in A38 accident

Police asked Carl Appleby to move his Ford Fiesta around the corner to safeguard other road-users after the accident on the A38 in Sutton, on November 30, said Lynne Bickley, prosecuting.

When Appleby didn't return officers went to his home where they found the car with minor damage and arranged to meet him on Common Lane.

He admitted he wasn't insured to drive the Fiesta but failed to comply with the breathalyzer test at the roadside and the police station.

His defence solicitor said he deserved full credit for his guilty plea and has one previous conviction for drink driving from more than 20 years ago.

He accepts consuming some alcohol earlier in the day, she said, and “thought he was trying to be helpful” by collecting his son’s car for him.

Appleby claimed the moped cut across him but the collision was no faster than ten miles an hour.

He immediately stopped to check on the rider whose foot was injured, his solictor said.

“He panicked because he knew he had no insurance, not because he was over the limit,” said his solicitor.

His failure to give a breath sample wasn’t deliberate, she added.

Appleby, aged 43, of Sandwich Close, admitted failing to provide a specimen, failing to stop after a road accident, and driving without insurance, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Thursday.

He was disqualified for 17 months but a rehabilitation course could reduce the ban. He must pay £1,162 in fines and costs.