A 76-YEAR-OLD man who crashed his car into a bin lorry in Enniskillen has claimed he was momentarily distracted by a horse grazing in a nearby field, Fermanagh Magistrates Court has heard.

Thomas MacCrory, a retired agricultural contractor of Tullyneil Court, Sixmilecross, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention at Loughshore Road, Enniskillen at August 8, 2016.

The court heard that, at 2.15pm, police received a report of a two-vehicle road traffic collision involving a bin lorry and the defendant’s blue Toyota Avensis.

Both vehicles had sustained damage in the incident, the court heard.

The defendant, who suffered a cut to his arm and a small cut to his eye, initially denied that he had been driving carelessly.

During interview, he described the road conditions as “damp” and admitted that he had been driving too close to the central white line before sliding “straight on” into the bin lorry.

Defending solicitor, Sean McHugh, told the court that, on the day in question, his client had been returning home when his attention was drawn to a horse grazing in a field.

The solicitor said MacCrory had looked at the animal for “longer than advisable” and this lapse in concentration had resulted in him colliding with the oncoming vehicle.

It was a decision he “bitterly regrets”, Mr McHugh added.

In mitigation, the solicitor said his client, who did not have any previous driving convictions, had suffered a number of injuries.

“This is a lesson for him,” he told the court.

District judge, Nigel Broderick, took into account his early guilty plea and clear driving record.

The judge imposed a £250 fine, a £15 offender levy and endorsed the defendant’s driving licence with six penalty points.