A BOY-racer who almost mowed down a policeman who had to dive clear of his car today apologised to the officer for the incident.Richard McCully, 26, of The Avenue, Trimley St Mary, who was found guilty of dangerous driving, said he had not realised the person was a police officer and that he had been driving to swerve round him, not hit him.

A BOY-racer who almost mowed down a policeman who had to dive clear of his car today apologised to the officer for the incident.

Richard McCully, 26, of The Avenue, Trimley St Mary, who was found guilty of dangerous driving, said he had not realised the person was a police officer and that he had been driving to swerve round him, not hit him.

"I want to say sorry to the officer – if I had known it was a police officer I would have stopped to see what he wanted," said McCully.

"All I could see was someone standing in the road shining a torch at my car. It was such a very bright light that I could see nothing behind it and just tried to swerve round it. I wouldn't drive at anyone."

As reported in later editions of yesterday's Evening Star, a jury at Ipswich Crown Court took just 40 minutes to convict McCully of the offence.

He was fined £500 and ordered to pay £3,103 towards court costs. He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months and told he had to pass another driving test before getting behind the wheel of a car again.

The court heard that McCully had been driving in Faulkeners Way, Trimley St Mary, at about 8.45pm when a police tried to stop him.

Judge Peter Thompson, said the officer stepped into the road and shone his torch at the defendant. The officer had told the court McCully would have been able to see him, despite his dark uniform.

He said if he had not "jumped" out of the way he would have been hit.

McCully, an IT engineer at Felixstowe Port, said he was "shocked" the following day when a police officer came to his home and said his car "tried to kill him".

Initially, McCully denied being in Faulkeners Way, he then agreed that he had been driving along the road when he was "bedazzled" by a bright light. He had not realised her had done anything wrong, and believed he had simply avoided a person in the road.

He said he thought someone living nearby might have been confronting him about "screeching his tyres" so he swerved round the person to avoid confrontation.

Judge Thompson, heard that McCully, who lives with his parents, earns around £24,500 a year and had about £3,500 in savings.

Judge Thompson said: "It is a serious offence to drive a car at a police officer in uniform, in this case it is not justifiable to send you to prison, but you will suffer financially."