A PENSIONER who knocked an off-duty police officer off his bike has been given a short-term disqualification from driving.

Magistrates in Worcester heard how David Evans, of Bearswood, Storridge, near Malvern, hit the unnamed officer at the junction of Worcester Road and Howsell Road, Malvern Link, after choosing not to wear his glasses.

The 77-year-old, who was driving a Peugeot 306, was banned for eight weeks following the incident, which happened at about 7pm on Saturday, April 7.

District judge Nigel Cad-bury said cyclists needed to be protected while out on the road and ordered Evans to re-take his test with the threat of a longer ban.

Mr Cadbury said: “You were not in a position to see a cyclist that was clearly there and there to be seen and was seen by the other witnesses who have given us witness statements.

“Your decision not to wear glasses because it was such a short distance completely overestimated your ability to see.”

He said that the officer could easily have been killed rather than just suffering from cuts and bruises.

Lesley Ashton, prosecuting, said the police officer was travelling down the road when he saw a car 10 to 15- metres away in the filter lane before it turned without indicating and hit him, causing him to be thrown into the air.

The officer needed hospital treatment for his injuries.

Ms Ashton said Evans could only read a car’s number plate from 37ft, not the regulation 67ft, when a police officer who attended the scene conducted a roadside eyesight test.

Graham Morgan, defending, described the crash as a momentary lapse and a foolish one which he did not expect to be repeated as it would act as a powerful reminder for Evans to wear his glasses while out on the road.

He said: “The criticism is failing to put his glasses on rather than the way he was driving or a manoeuvre he made. The way in which he drove did not create a danger to the public, simply he was not wearing his glasses.”

Evans was also fined £250 and ordered to pay costs of £60 and a victim surcharge of £15.