MALVERN car company Morgan has been criticised in court after it loaned a vehicle with defective tyres to a foreign visitor who was later involved in a fatal accident.

New Zealander Nathan Graham, aged 28, admitted two counts of driving with defective tyres, which did not have the required 1.6mm tread throughout, when he appeared before Worcester magistrates on Tuesday.

He had been the driver of a Morgan Aero 8, which was in collision with a red Rover towing a caravan near Hanley Swan.

The crash, on August 21, killed 74-year-old Catherine Ralphs, of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The chairman of the bench criticised the Malvern-based Morgan Motor Company for allowing Graham to drive the car.

"It's extremely distressing that Morgan provided you with a car to drive that was not roadworthy," she said.

Magistrates endorsed Graham's licence with three penalty points and gave him a six-month conditional discharge.

Stephen Davies, prosecuting, said a police examiner found the tread to be deficient but he added: "The examiner said these tyres would not have been a contributory factor in the collision".

Nick Roberts, defending, said his client had been through a harrowing ordeal.

"He has also been a victim in this scenario," he said.

"He had no reason to believe there would be defects on a car of this type. However, this did not contribute to the particular accident."

Charles Morgan, managing director of the company, said he was perplexed about the offence.

"They were not bald but very slightly below the limit on one side and just on it on the other," he said.

An inquest was opened into Mrs Ralph's death and adjourned.