Charges against injured Welshpool biker dropped after police ‘bungled’ evidence.

Darren Hackley-Green: ‘police investigation was bungled’

A Welshpool man seriously injured in a motorbike crash was threatened with prosecution by police, but charges were dropped after police evidence was shown to be ‘bungled’.

Charges against the man, Lee Skidmore aged 38, were later dropped after lawyers acting on his behalf showed that police descriptions of the accident were completely incorrect.

In July last year, Mr Skidmore had been travelling along the A458 at Castle Caereinion just outside Welshpool when he encountered a slow-moving tractor. As he overtook he claims the tractor, driven by Geraint Astley, turned right without warning.

In the resultant collision Mr Skidmore suffered life threatening injuries and was rushed by ambulance to the Royal Shrewsbury hospital. He suffered three spinal fractures, a punctured lung, ruptured spleen, and further fractures to his arm, sternum and femur, the last so severe that doctors thought they may have to amputate his leg.

Police alleged that at the time of the accident Mr Sjidmore was driving without due care and attention and had crossed a double white line as he overtook the tractor.

Mr Skidmore’s legal case was managed by Darren Hackley-Green, a specialist in defending motoring prosecutions with Cardiff-based NewLaw.
‘The police investigation was bungled from the outset,’ claims Darren Hackley-Green. ‘Mr Skidmore was upset that he was questioned and made to feel like a guilty party when trying to recover from life-threatening injuries. But when we investigated the case the facts on which the prosecution was based were entirely erroneous.
‘There was no double white line where the accident took place. In fact the nearest was about 50 yards away.
‘He crossed a single white line, but since the tractor was doing less than 10mph at the time he was perfectly entitled to do so.

‘We had difficulty getting full disclosure of documents from the police and it took four months and two court appearances by Mr Skidmore before our argument that the matter should be discontinued was properly addressed by the prosecutor.’

In a brief statement, Lee Skidmore said:
‘A proper investigation would have shown the police were completely wrong in their allegations. I told them at my interview that the Highway Code allowed me to make my manoeuvre, but they ignored me.’
Mr Skidmore will now be pursuing a civil claim against the tractor driver for the injuries he received. He has made a partial recovery, but he will remain significantly disabled for the rest of his life.