A HOLMFIRTH man appeared in court after crashing his car while looking for his lost pet.
Benjamin Dransfield, of Helme Lane in Meltham, appeared before Kirklees magistrates yesterday.
He pleaded guilty to offences of driving without due care and attention and failing to stop after an accident.
Paul Ramsay, prosecuting, said that on the morning of December 29, police received a call from Nathan Helliwell.
Mr Helliwell said that his Honda had been hit by another vehicle at Mill Moor Road in Meltham near his home.
Mr Ramsay said: “The Honda had been knocked 15 foot forwards in the collision.
“The other driver was not present and his car was left in the road.
“There was substantial damage to both cars and the air bags had been deployed.”
The prosecutor said that Dransfield, 28, didn’t attend the police station until 30 hours after the incident.
He enquired about his car after it was towed away due to the obstruction it was causing in the road.
Mr Ramsay said: “Mr Dransfield stated that the accident happened at 5am.
“He said that he had not been paying as much attention as he was looking for his dog at the time.”
Jonathan Slawinski, defending, said his client had walked around for a short time in an attempt to make enquiries about the hit car.
He said that he returned later in the day to discover that both cars had been recovered and didn’t call police because he panicked.
Magistrates endorsed Ramsay’s driving licence with eight penalty points. They also ordered him to pay £250 fine, £85 court costs and £15 victim surcharge.
