Man driving too fast crashed into horses on Langho road

The female rider and her horse were left seriously injured after the crash, Preston Crown Court heard.

Three women were riding their horses back to stables in Moor Lane, Langho, in August 2022, when they heard a car coming towards them.

One rider, Amy Astley, signalled for a Ford Fiesta driver to slow down but instead hit one of the horses.

Faisal Ul-Haq (Image: Lancashire Police)

The actions of Faisal Ul-Haq, 40, caused the other two horses to bolt.

One rider fell immediately from her horse, another fell down an embankment while the other was left clinging to her horse as it bolted.

Imran Khan, prosecuting, said Ul-Haq and his passengers got out of the car and fled, not checking on either of the women or their animals.

Ul-Haq later denied to police he had been the driver at the time of the incident.

But when interviewed, he was shown CCTV footage of the collision and admitted to being the driver but refused to answer further questions.

In a statement, Ms Astley had suffered anxiety since the crash, and had been “reliving it all over again” wondering if she could have done something different.

Moor Lane, near Langho (Image: Google Maps)

She said: “There are people out there who drive so thoughtlessly. I’ve never encountered someone so selfish or cowardly before.

“Our horses are not pieces of equipment like a motorbike, they are family.”

Ms Astley said she and her friends, Catherine Crossley and Christine Taylor, would go out riding every Sunday morning as a way to catch up but had not been doing that since the incident.

Ms Crossley’s statement said she’d had “sleepless nights with flashbacks” since the incident and when she is driving a car is now very anxious about driving around horses.

She has been left unable to look after her four grandchildren or care for her elderly mother due to her injuries.

She suffered fractures, muscle pain, and cuts and had to have multiple hospital appointments. She has had to find someone else to ride the horse as she is no longer able to.

Her family had to postpone her granddaughter’s christening because she was unable to attend due to her injuries.

Ms Crossley also lost out on money working as a crowd nurse at Blackburn Rovers FC because she was unable to carry the heavy equipment as a result of what happened.

Preston Crown Court Sessions House (Image: Archive)

Ul-Haq, formerly of Calder Street, Blackburn, but now living in Coventry, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving and failing to stop.

He has 16 previous convictions from 26 offences, including two convictions for drink driving and one for driving whilst disqualified and being uninsured.

James Holding, mitigating, said Ul-Haq had moved away from the area to get away from people “affecting him negatively.”

Mr Holding said his client had been driving under the road speed limit of 60mph, but it was accepted his speed was still above what was deemed safe for that road.

Section 214 of the Highway Code, says drivers should be "particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when approaching, overtaking, passing or moving away".

It states: "Always pass wide and slowly. When you see a horse on a road, you should slow down to a maximum of 10mph.

"Be patient, do not sound your horn or rev your engine. When safe to do so, pass wide and slow, allowing at least two metres of space."

Recorder Nicola Daley, sentencing, said: “One of them clearly tried to get you to slow down.

“It may not be the most serious injury to come before this court, but it was a very serious injury causing lasting impact.

“Not only was she unable to care for her grandchildren, but she wasn’t able to take her mum out. Your actions that day had an impact not just on those ladies, but also other people normally cared for by them.”

Ul-Haq was sentenced to two years and one month in prison.

He was also given a three-year driving ban to reflect his time in prison and will have to complete and extended re-test in order to get his licence back.