A PENSIONER who knocked unconscious a Highways England traffic officer with his vehicle has been fined at Portsmouth Crown Court today.

Michael Woods, 71, of Waterlooville, was found guilty of driving without due care and attention, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

At Portsmouth Crown Court today he was fined £500 with nine points on his licence for careless driving. For the actual bodily harm a community order with two years supervision and 20 rehabilitation days was imposed.

The court heard how Woods was driving a Nissan Navara on the A3(M) on November 8 2016 when he pulled over to use his mobile phone on the hard shoulder near the junction with the Easton Bridge.

He was approached by traffic officers and without warning Woods left the scene at speed, striking traffic officer Stuart MacKay, knocking him unconscious.

Woods did not stop, and was chased by a member of the public who had witnessed the incident to inform him that he had hit someone.

The errant driver was abusive, said he hadn’t and drove off.

Mr MacKay was taken to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth, suffering concussion, severe soft tissue damage, cuts and bruises.

After the hearing Mr Mackay said: “We are taught about the dangers of working on motorways and are prepared to deal with a wide range of incidents. I’m an extremely lucky person and thankfully my injuries weren’t too severe. Working on road is a potentially dangerous job and I ask drivers to respect my colleagues that are here to help drivers when they need us.”

Dez Leach, Highways England regional operations manager, said: “Traffic officers play a vital role in clearing motorway incidents and keeping traffic flowing. Safety runs through everything we do and abuse or violence towards our staff is completely unacceptable. We welcome today’s verdict and hope it serves as a reminder to treat on-road staff – who put themselves in harm’s way every day – with respect.

“Motorways are hazardous environments and the hard shoulder is there for emergencies only – not for taking phone calls.”

PC Colin Green, Hampshire Police, added: “Mr Woods has always denied colliding with the Highways England traffic officer, despite this incident being caught on dash cam.

“Thankfully the victim only suffered minor injuries but this collision could have been so much worse.

“We welcome the sentence handed out by the crown court today and want to remind anyone that drives in this manner and endangers the lives of others that you will be prosecuted.”