A WOMAN said she feared she would be decapitated after a tractor driver’s overloaded trailer crashed in to her car, writing it off.

Martin Roch, of Maidenwells, near Pembroke, was driving a JCB Telehandler on the B4319 at Maidenwells at around 12.45pm on May 9. He was towing a trailer loaded with a metal shed frame.

Prosecutor Brian Simpson told the court that the metal shed frame stuck out “a metre on either side” of the trailer.

  • For the latest crime and court news for West Wales, you can join our Facebook group here.

A 67-year-old woman was driving in the opposite direction. As she saw the tractor approach, she noticed it was over the central white line and that the load was extending beyond the width of the trail.

Mr Simpson said that she pulled to the side of the road to let Roch pass, but he continued on his path and the shed frame crashed in to the pillar between the windscreen and the driver’s door on the victim’s car.

The metal frame broke the car window, and the woman and her passenger suffered minor cuts from the smashed glass.

Mr Simpson told the court that Roch initially gave the name of the farmer he was working for, but when the farmer arrived, Roch gave the correct details.

Emily Bennett, in mitigation, said that Roch had initially given the name of the farmer because he had been asked for the owner’s details for insurance purposes.

The woman’s car was written off due to the damage caused.

Western Telegraph: The victim's car sustained a gash in the front driver's side pillar and a smashed window.The victim's car sustained a gash in the front driver's side pillar and a smashed window. (Image: CPS)

“A couple of more inches longer I feel I would have been decapitated,” she said.

“He didn’t slow down at all.”

Addressing the court, Mr Simpson said: “He drove knowing that the vehicle was dangerously overloaded it seems.”

Roch, 51, has no previous driving offences or endorsements. He pleaded guilty to an offence of dangerous driving.

Ms Bennett told the court that Roch “acknowledges his fault and accepts responsibility” for the offence.

“The defendant was of the view on the date of the offence that the load was nothing out of the ordinary,” she said.

“The defendant however accepts he was incorrect in that analysis.”

Western Telegraph: The tractor was driving over the central white line and with the load of the trailer extending in to the opposite side of the road.The tractor was driving over the central white line and with the load of the trailer extending in to the opposite side of the road. (Image: CPS)

Ms Bennett said that Roch’s disqualification had had a “huge impact” on his employability as an agricultural worker, as he was now unable to drive farming machinery on roads between farmers’ fields.

Judge Paul Thomas KC said Roch was driving “without any consideration” to the safety of other road users that day.

“It should’ve been completely obvious to you that driving that tractor and trailer would put other road users at risk,” he said.

Roch was sentenced to 24 weeks, suspended for 12 months. As part of this, he must complete 100 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He was banned from driving for a year, after which he must pass an extended test to regain his licence.