(
England) I happen to live in the country, and when out and about and you come across a horse rider, you slow down (or even stop) in which not to spook the horse. That isn't just good manners, it's written into the highway code. It even something I do when out on my mountain bike. However, for peaceful Nadeem Hussain, respecting the highway code or even caring about 20-year-old Charlotte Watmough and her 12-year-old horse Merlin, all he saw was red when she waved him down as he approached her at speed last June on a small country road (
Back Lane). As he turned the corner instead of slowing down as he approached Miss Watmough and her horse Merlin, he sped up. She waved him to slow down and he skidded to a halt, got out of his white van and gave her a mouthful of abuse before getting back into his van and driving past Charlotte.
However, instead of just driving off, Nadeem, his honour offended, stopped his van and reversed into the horse before driving off. Unlucky for him, his vehicle number had been taken and a little later, the police knocked on his door. In court, Nadeem opined:
"He did not deliberately aim for the animal."
However, Judge Beverley Lunt was having none of his excuses and jailed him for 10 months, banned him from driving for a year and ordered him to take an extended retest before being allowed back on the road.
