Judge orders 'road rage' retrial

Gordon Springall was left unconscious with five broken ribs

A retrial has been ordered in the case of a Nottingham man accused of deliberately running down a Loughborough teacher in an alleged road rage incident.

Judge John Machin discharged the jury on the fourth day of the trial at Lincoln Crown Court for legal reasons which cannot be reported.

The unexpected move came at the end of the defence speech by Martin Hurst on the day the jury had been expected to consider its verdict.

John McKinney denies the charges

Gordon Springall, 51, became the alleged victim after he and his wife Lynn had been to a pop concert at Belvoir Castle in Leicestershire.

Company car driver John McKinney, 38, was accused of deliberately reversing into Mr Springall after getting lost as he drove his girlfriend from the same event.

Mr McKinney, of Mapperley, Nottingham, denied causing grievous bodily harm with intent, an alternative charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm on August 26, 2001 and dangerous driving on the same date.

On Friday he was granted bail to await a new trial on the same charges which is likely to be heard next month.

Mr McKinney admitted he had been driving in the area at the time but claimed he had abandoned the car after crashing it into a ditch.