A MOTORIST who knocked a dog walker unconscious after failing to stop at a zebra crossing escaped disqualification from driving on Wednesday.

The victim was walking with four dogs across Severnvale Drive, Quedgeley, on December 15 when he was hit, Stroud Magistrates’ Court heard.

He was left unconscious with a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, a broken tibia, whiplash, a sprained ankle and a fractured knee and spent nine days in hospital.

Christopher Brindley, aged 28, of Pendock Close, Quedgeley, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to a charge of driving without due care and attention.

Brindley said he had been turning his radio on and lost concentration when the accident happened.

“I feel really bad about the incident and it will stay with me for the rest of my life,” he said.

In a statement written on December 29, the victim said he could not remember the incident but had spent nine days in hospital and was left bed-bound and feeling “unhappy and frustrated”.

His dogs were unhurt in the incident.

In a statement, a witness said Brindley’s Mitsubishi Lancer hit the pedestrian with such force that he “went down like a rag doll” even though he was not speeding or driving erratically, the court heard.

Brindley was extremely shocked, the witness added.

The chairman of the bench said he was “mindful” that Brindley needed his car to commute to his job in Cheltenham and visit his partner in Gloucester.

Rather than disqualify him from driving they chose instead to increase the fine.

Brindley was given nine points on his licence and fined £525.

He was warned to be “extremely careful” in the future.