Classic car driver, 59, who ran over Cavapoo near Overton handed a fine

David Dinsdale, of Glebe Meadow, Overton, was acquitted of driving without due and attention, but was fined for failing to report to police after a road accident on Silk Mill Lane on May 10 2020 which led to the death of a two-year old Cavapoo.

Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court heard on Friday, July 30, that at around 3.30pm, Stephen Temple and Zoe Tracy were out walking their three dogs, when Mr Dinsdale’s car appeared ahead of them and subsequently ran over their dog, Shaggy.

The defence and prosecution disagreed on many elements of the events of the afternoon, including whether or not Mr Dinsdale stopped to speak to the distraught couple after the accident.

James Burnham, prosecuting, said that while the couple were walking along the “narrow” country lane, they saw Mr Dinsdale’s 90-year-old Morris Cowley appear ahead of them.

Giving evidence in court, Mr Temple and Ms Tracy said that there was space for the car to pass them, but they had hoped it would stop. When they realised it wasn’t going to, they stopped on the road, with the dogs on their left-hand side.

Mr Burnham said: “It is certainly possible for a car to pass a pedestrian, but only just. My case is that the defendant should have simply stopped and let them go pass but he carried on driving.”

Mr Temple said: “My feet were on the road, right next to the verge. The car just kept coming closer and I thought “bloody hell!” The car passed me, and the next thing I was aware of was hearing my partner screaming and shouting stop. I didn’t know if she had been hit or what had happened.

“When the car finally went past I moved the dog so I could turn around. I saw my partner, and then I saw my dog coming out from the back wheel of the car.”

The incident occurred on the "narrow" Silk Mill Lane in Overton

Ms Tracy, a veterinary nurse, was emotional as she told the court that she had put her other dog Bower, up onto the verge to keep him safe, and had Shaggy between her legs on the road.

“I was really tucked into the side,” she said.

“They are happy dogs and will do anything they’re asked. They were all on leads and harnesses and are really really well behaved.”

She continued: “I felt the lead with Shaggy jerk and I looked around and saw Shaggy go under the front of the car. I was shouting and I couldn’t get to him. I couldn’t move, and then the back wheel went over him as well.”

Ms Tracy scooped her injured pet from the road and handed him to Mr Temple, who ran up to the side of the driver’s car, which had come to a stop a little way ahead.

Mr Temple claimed the driver’s window was closed and that he shouted ‘help’ but received no response before Mr Dinsdale drove off.

He said: “The driver didn’t undo the window, didn’t even look at me, didn’t acknowledge anything.”

Both Mr Temple and Ms Tracy claimed the car paused only for “seconds”.

While Ms Tracy called her boss for advice, another passing car stopped and gave Mr Temple a lift to his home, where he got into his own car, ready to head to the vet.

But Mr Dinsdale’s son James, private secretary to government minister Robert Jenrick, who had been in the car with his father, quickly returned to the scene with his girlfriend, Rachel, and found Ms Tracy and the other two dogs.

The court heard Mr Dinsdale chose not to return to the scene because he was “a bit shaken” by the ordeal.

James said: "I felt it like dad had just been involved in an accident and it made sense for me and Rachel to go back. I do regret that now, but at the time I was trying to do what was best to help the dog."

James told the court that he asked Ms Tracy where she would like to go, and was in the process of driving her home when they met up with Mr Temple. James admitted that neither he nor his girlfriend gave their details to the couple.

L-R: David Dinsdale, Thomas Evans, James Dinsdale

This led to a social media campaign to trace the driver, launched by the couple in the days and weeks after.

However, Thomas Evans, defending, said that his client had been driving a “reasonable” speed for the country road, and added that the couple, as is the “protocol” on this road, had stepped onto the verge as he approached.

Giving evidence, Mr Dinsdale said: “The old car had not had a ride out in a while and Rachel had never been in the car.”

James and Rachel had been staying with James’ parents during lockdown and the group were returning home, driving at no more than 18mph, Mr Dinsdale said.

“We can see people and dogs, so I was approaching that with some care. There were people in the road, and we could see them make their way onto the verge.”

The driver and both passengers claimed they saw the couple and dogs on the verge, and that Ms Tracy had both dogs between her legs, with James Dinsdale saying he saw the dog “bolt” out onto the road.

David Dinsdale added: “I hear the scream, and then I feel the bump as the dog goes under the back wheel. I am certain it was only the rear wheel because I would have felt it on the steering wheel if it was also the front wheel.”

The family claimed that they stopped the car ahead, and that the window was open, as it always is due to needing to signal manually.

They claimed they had a conversation with Mr Temple in which they explained that the old car didn’t have the capacity to drive them to the vet, but that they lived round the corner and would come back.

Acquitting Mr Dinsdale of both charges, District Judge Tim Pattinson said: “In all the circumstances, I find that Mr Dinsdale was driving at a moderate speed.

“I find that Shaggy sadly did dart, dash into the road, and that is how Shaggy came to an end.

“Just stopping for seconds would indicate a callous driver, I find that this cannot be accepted in this case for a number of reasons. It is completely inconsistent with what happened thereafter.”

The judge also agreed that the window must have been open, which he said “weakened” the couple’s evidence.

However, claiming he was unaware of the necessity to do so, Mr Dinsdale pleaded guilty to failing to report the accident to the police within 24 hours, for which he received five license penalty points and a fine of £194.

Speaking after the court hearing, the Mr Dinsdale’s son James described the verdict as “fair”.