A MAN has admitted causing an A120 crash which left a man struggling to walk six months on.

Karl Roberts, 22, admitted driving without due care and attention following a crash which forced Joy and Timothy Minogue to swerve into a ditch near Coggeshall.

Mr Minogue, 70 spent almost seven weeks in Broomfield Hospital after he broke his hip, femur and three ribs and shattered his knee, before later contracting pneumonia in hospital.

Last week at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court, Roberts, of Maypole Green Road, Colchester, was given nine penalty points and ordered to pay £536.

Mrs Minogue, 67, said husband Timothy still required daily visits from carers and weekly physiotherapy sessions.

She said: “My husband is still recovering. I don’t think he will be the same again.

“It will take six to eight months for him to learn to walk again.

“He has a walker and his next step is going on to crutches, but he’s not very mobile yet. It’s a really slow process.

“We are very grateful for small miracles. He is alive.”

Braintree and Witham Times:

Mrs Minogue forgave Roberts and said work to upgrade the Braintree to Marks Tey stretch of the A120, which saw 46 accidents last year, was urgently needed.

She said: “He made a mistake and he should get on with his life. I don’t hold any grudges.

“He was not drunk or under the influence of drugs. I say good luck to him.

“Nothing has changed on the A120 at all. We were on it the other day and these cars were overtaking us, but you just can’t on a road like that. I didn’t realise there had been as many as 46 accidents in a year.

“So many people’s lives are in danger on that road.

“People take chances they shouldn’t. They are impatient and need to take more care.”