A POLICE officer who crashed into an oncoming car while responding to an emergency call has been told his driving licence will not be endorsed.

Tom Potter

A POLICE officer who crashed into an oncoming car while responding to an emergency call has been told his driving licence will not be endorsed.

Nathan Rose, an officer at Leiston, was on his way to attend a report of domestic violence in Saxmundhum on July 9 when the marked police car he was driving collided with a car driving in the opposite direction in Church Street.

Rose admitted driving without due care and attention after the crash but gave special reasons for the incident happening at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court yesterday.

The 32-year-old told the court he had been forced to sound the car horn manually after the two tone siren malfunctioned as he drove to attend the scene of an alleged incident of domestic violence involving the possible use of a weapon.

Driving at speeds of between 50 and 60mph between Leiston and Saxmundhum, Rose slowed down as he and a fellow officer in the car approached a set of traffic lights and entered the oncoming lane.

Rose was able to avoid one car as he turned right at the junction but upon turning the corner, the front off side of his car collided with the front off side of a second oncoming car.

At the point of impact, the car was travelling at around 15mph, a speed not deemed to be excessive by district judge David Cooper, who handed Rose and absolute discharge but asked him to pay �85 in court costs.