Road-rage eco-farmer drove his tractor into GP’s car
AN AWARD-winning green farmer faces jail after ramming a family GP’s car with his 7.5 ton tractor.
Andrew Hollinshead, 54, saw red and ploughed into Dr Paul Uglow’s VW Tiguan after a dispute at a junction.
Crewe magistrates heard Dr Uglow, 48, had followed parish councillor Hollinshead back to his farm near Sandbach, Cheshire, where the tractor caused £13,000 of damage after it smashed into the medic’s car.
Hollinshead appeared on a regional BBC show after scooping “Green Farmer of the Year” at the 2016 Northern Farmer Awards for using eco tech, such as a wind turbine.
He has been convicted of criminal damage and assault.
Magistrate chair Frances Miller told him: “We accept the evidence of Dr Uglow. We thought his evidence was clear and concise and consistent when he was cross examined.
“Photos of the damage of the car showed the puncture hole in the driver’s side door and the other damage. We accept the evidence of the 999 call.
“It is not credible that a car owner would place his car in front of a moving seven and a half ton vehicle with the driver side next to the vehicle.”
Dr Uglow was on an A-road driving home from work when a tractor pulled out, forcing him to slam on the brakes.
The medic said he wanted to tell the driver he had hit the kerb and damaged his wheel rims. He followed the tractor to the defendant’s farm where he said: “Can I have a word please?”
The GP told the court Hollinshead got “into the tractor, drives across the compound and goes straight into my driver’s door”. He heard crumpling metal and was showered with glass. His arm was bleeding. Dr Uglow in a 999 call said the tractor driver was “an absolute animal”. Hollinshead will be sentenced later over the incident last July and could face up to four years in jail if the case is sent to crown court.