A SUFFOLK policeman has failed to overturn his conviction for careless driving.Matthew Kidd-Stanton denied driving carelessly along Foxhall Road while answering a 999 call.

A SUFFOLK policeman has failed to overturn his conviction for careless driving.

Matthew Kidd-Stanton denied driving carelessly along Foxhall Road while answering a 999 call.

The 28 year-old of Acer Grove, Ipswich maintained that his car lost control and collided with learner driver Jennifer Castle's oncoming car because of the slippery road rather than his careless overtaking manoeuvre.

However, at an appeal hearing against his conviction and sentence at Ipswich Crown Court, Judge Nicholas Beddard said: "After looking at the nearside to see if the road was clear he mistakenly believed the road ahead was clear and contrary to what he said started to overtake and then became aware of Miss Castle's car which would have been obscured by Pc Alcock's and Mr Brown's car.

"I will dismiss the appeal against the conviction and sentence."

South East Suffolk Magistrates convicted the police force trained advanced driver adding six penalty points to his licence, fined £250 and ordered him to pay £35 towards the court costs.

During the hearing the court heard that Pc Kidd-Stanton and Pc Simon Alcock had been answering a call to a suspected burglary when the accident happened. Pc Alcock had been driving along the road from Martlesham on July 25 last year in a marked police car and Pc Kidd-Stanton had been following behind in an unmarked Ford Focus towards Ipswich. They had driven past Foxhall Refuse site through an S bend and onto the straight near Dobbs Lane when Pc Alcock overtook a silver car driven by Arthur Brown.

Pc Alcock told the court: "The car I overtook moved to the near side and braked to let me pass. I did not know where Mr Kidd-Stanton was there was a red vehicle coming towards me that slowed to let me pull back onto my side. Then I saw Mr Kidd-Stanton's vehicle about three to four vehicle lengths back and on the wrong side of the road, I slowed down fearing there may be a collision, the red vehicle continued up the carriage way and struck Mr Kidd-Stanton's car."

Pc Kidd-Stanton said he had merely moved to the middle of the road to see if the way was clear to overtake when his back wheels "lost traction" on the wet road, learner driver Miss Castle and her supervising passenger Matthew Fox suffered whiplash injuries.