AN UNREPENTANT van driver who drove dangerously close to two horse riders while on a mobile phone and forced another driver off the road has been fined hundreds of pounds.

Ian Thatcher, 39, of McCarthy Way in Finchampstead, tried to overtake the two horses and their riders in his Vauxhall Vivaro as they rode towards Coombes Woods in Barkham at 8.45am on November 16 last year.

Swerving onto the wrong side of the road, a red Ford was forced to suddenly stop as Thatcher's Vauxhall van forced its way past the riders, coming within 'arms length' of the horses.

Thatcher was holding his mobile phone in his hand during this manoeuvre.

Linda Harrison was one of the riders and filmed the incident on her helmet camera.

She said: "The horse, Tuppence, is my friends. We just got out the yard and saw the van coming past us.

"Instead of waiting he pushed past and a car coming the other way ended up in a hedge.

"He kicked her off the road. It was 8.30 on a Sunday morning, there was no need for him to do that. We would have been out of his way in a minute or two at the most."

She tracked down Thatcher through the writing on the side of the van but when confronted he refused to apologise. The company's CEO then came out to review the tape and told the rider she could go ahead with the prosecution.

He did not attend court was fined £383 and given six points on his driving licence in his absence.

The two riders, women aged 49 and 65 were both wearing fluorescent clothing and were left shaken by the incident saying it could have been much worse if they had been less experienced or on younger horses.

Ms Harris said she has been using the helmet camera for about a year as it encourages motorists to give the horses enough room.

Investigating officer, PC Laura Wright, rural crime officer for Wokingham Local Policing Area, said: “We have had a number of incidents on our rural roads in the past few years where horses have been involved or injured and this conviction just goes to show that the police will take seriously any allegation it receives against motorists.

“The hat cam evidence available in this case has assisted towards the conviction of a man showing complete disregard to other road users.

"If you would like to discuss further safety advice with either myself or PCSO Suzanna Carr then please do not hesitate to contact us via the Thames Valley Police 101 number.”

The incident was caught on one of the rider's HD CCTV camera attached to her helmet and Thatcher was found guilty of one count of driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or in a public place without due care and attention at Oxford Magistrates Court last Thursday.