A Scots motor racing champion has been ordered to pay a fine after spooking a pony in his loud Land Rover.
Lewis Proctor, part of team Beechdean AMR in the British GT Championships, carried out an ill-judged overtake and ended up in between a pony and a vehicle being driven behind it as protection.
Formerly a rising star of the prestigious McLaren Driver Development Programme, the 26-year-old left the pony and its owner panicked as he had to abandon the manoeuvre.
Proctor had initially been charged with dangerous driving over the matter, carrying a minimum 12-month driving ban on conviction, but his plea to the lesser charge of careless driving was accepted.
‘I think it spooked the horse’
Fiscal depute Tom Procter told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the incident happened around 2pm on September 5 last year.
He said the pony was being led along the B977 Hatton of Fintry to Dyce road by a female while her mother drove slowly behind at around 10-15mph with her hazard lights on.
The mother became aware of a vehicle behind, driven by Proctor, which appeared to be looking for opportunities to overtake.
The fiscal depute said: “The accused then did this while it was unsafe to do so with oncoming traffic.
“He had to pull in sharply between the vehicle and the pony.
“This caused all parties to become panicked, including the pony.”
Proctor stayed between them for “a couple of minutes” before finally managing to complete his overtake.
‘He’s a country man at heart’
He was later traced by police and accepted the offer of a fixed penalty, however, failed to comply with it.
Proctor, of Pitmedden House, Dyce, pled guilty to a charge of careless driving by “startling” the pony.
Defence agent Gregor Kelly said his client, who was previously caught speeding on the A90 in his father’s Bentley, had not deliberately failed to pay the fixed penalty.
He said Proctor was driving with his girlfriend in a 2.2 diesel Land Rover when he came up behind the 4×4 being driven by the mother as protection for the pony.
Mr Kelly said: “He simply saw the back of the large 4×4 with its hazard lights on.”
The solicitor explained the 4×4 was only moving around 10-15mph and so Proctor began to overtake and only then realised there was a pony being led in front.
After oncoming traffic forced him to merge back into the correct side of the road, Proctor “tried to give as much room as possible” to the animal.
He said: “The old Land Rover was fairly loud and I think it spooked the horse.
“He’s a country man at heart. He apologises.”
Sheriff Andrew Miller fined Proctor, who was not personally present at the hearing, £245 and gave him three penalty points.
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