AN ARMY officer has been cleared by a jury of causing death by dangerous driving following the death of a Dorchester woman last April.

Lt-Col Nicholas Bate, 45, admitted that he was looking at his radio the moment that he hit a caravan which was parked at the side of the A351, killing 59-year-old Shirley Anne Annear.

A jury found him not guilty of causing death by dangerous driving but guilty of driving without due care and attention Judge Roger Jarvis fined Bate £1,200 and ordered five penalty points to be added to his licence at the end of the trial at Bournemouth Crown Court.

The verdicts came after the jury heard how Mrs Annear died in the crash in April of 2008.

The jury was told that Mrs Annear and her husband Jon were changing a tyre of their Toyota Corolla as they headed home from Swanage to Dorchester.

The court was told that they had replaced the tyre and were re-hitching the caravan when Bate’s Audi estate hit the rear side of the caravan.

Mrs Annear was trapped between the caravan and the car and later died at the roadside from serious leg and chest injuries, the jury was told.

During the trial Bate denied the charge of death by dangerous driving but admitted that he took his eyes off the road for a few seconds and did not see the caravan.

Judge Jarvis said to Bate: “I have already expressed the court’s sympathy to the family of the deceased.

“Nothing I can say can ease their loss.

“You are clearly a fine man held in the finest regard by those who know you – you have served and made a valuable contribution to the nation.”

During the trial the court heard that Bate was a well-respected top ranking Army officer who has commanded hundreds of soldiers in battle.

Character witness Major General David Rutherford-Jones, commandant of the military academy at Sandhurst, told the court that Bate had strong moral values.

He added: “Integrity and selflessness are the things I think underwrite his life.”

Mr Annear also suffered shock and a twisted ankle.

Bate, of North Street, Blandford, suffered minor injuries and was arrested for dangerous driving at the scene.

Breath tests for alcohol carried out by police officers were negative.

In a police interview Bate said he was driving at 40mph to 50mph along the 60mph single carriageway road.

He added: “I think I was looking down turning the radio on – I just didn’t see. Suddenly, there was one hell of a bang.”

The court heard from other drivers that were in front of Bate that said they manoeuvred around the caravan which came into view from around 280m to 400m away.

The caravan was parked without hazard lights and was taking up quarter of the carriageway, the jury heard.

Judge Jarvis summarised that it was an unfortunate fact of the case that the Mr and Mrs Annear did not have their hazard lights on and were not displaying a hazard warning triangle. Speaking after the trial PC Lee Savage of Dorset Police’s Road Policing Unit, said: “This case highlights just how vital it is for drivers to concentrate at all times. A momentary relapse can have such tragic consequences.”