by Keith Hunt and Ed McConnell

A van driver has been cleared of knocking down and killing a 95-year-old pedestrian after he was distracted by his dog on the passenger seat.

Edward Barlow was crossing London Road in Southborough holding a walking stick when he was hit by the Ford transit van driven by Billy Dunn.

The 21-year-old, of Liptaps Lane, Tunbridge Wells, told a nurse soon afterwards his dog Diesel had started to come across towards him and he pushed it away shortly before the tragedy happened.

All of a sudden, he said, he was aware something had happened. He didn’t remember seeing the man in front of him.

But he later claimed it had happened earlier and not at the time of the accident.

Prosecutor Siobhan Molloy said a witness was waiting to leave the car park of Tesco Express near the junction of Springfield Road on December 29 2014 when she saw Mr Barlow crossing the road.

He had been to collect a prescription and was crossing towards Tesco as the van approached towards Tunbridge Wells.

Another witness heard a dull thud and turned around to see the aftermath. The van’s wing mirror had come off. Mr Barlow was lying in the road.

The witness went to the nearby St Andrews Medical Centre to get help. Doctors tried to save Mr Barlow’s life but he died from multiple injuries.

“Mr Dunn was in a state,” said Miss Molloy. “Of course he was. He was panicked, frightened and concerned for Mr Barlow.”

He told a police officer: “My dog was trying to get onto my side. I pushed him back. I looked up and saw an object on my left side. I went to hit the brakes. The next thing I knew it was too late.”

But when interviewed, Dunn said he did remember seeing a man in front of him. His dog did come across but it was earlier and not at the time of the collision, he added.

He also said there had been glare from the sun.

The victim suffered head, chest, pelvic and thigh injuries and died at the scene.

An expert found that Mr Barlow would have been in the driver’s vision for about six seconds before the collision.

“However some blame may be attributable to Mr Barlow, the Crown’s case is Mr Dunn was still driving carelessly, and it was that carelessness that ultimately caused his death,” said Miss Molloy.

“He detracted from what he said on the day. He said he had been distracted by his dog and you may feel that is very telling. The Crown invite you to conclude that is exactly what happened.

“It is a horrible set of circumstances and all collided together at the time.”

After two hours of deliberation the jury in the retrial returned a verdict of not guilty this morning.