A MOTORIST, who attempted to 'cover up' damage caused to his car following a fatal crash on the M4 on Christmas Day, had previously ignored medical advice over his eyesight, a court has heard.

The trial of Nigel Sweeting, 50, of Monnow Way, Bettws, Newport, started at Newport Crown Court today, following the death of motorcyclist David Evans, 49, of Caldicot on December 25, 2015.

He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges – death by dangerous driving, death by careless driving and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The court heard the fatal crash occurred on the M4 between junction 25 Caerleon and junction 24 Coldra at around 6pm in dark and wet driving conditions.

Opening the case for the prosecution, James Wilson, told the court that Mr Evans was returning home to Caldicot from his place of work in Cardiff.

The court was shown CCTV evidence of the events leading up to the crash, with Mr Evans joining the motorway at junction 29 just before 5.50pm.

“There are no eyewitnesses of the collision,” added Mr Wilson, “but the footage does show the routes taken by Mr Evans and the defendant and the events which lead up to the collision taking place.”

Mr Wilson added that at the time of the collision, which occurred after the Brynglas Tunnels, the vehicles were travelling at around 81mph.

“The defendant was still driving in lane one, but moving into lane two,” said Mr Wilson.

“Mr Evans moved into lane two and the defendant moves into lane three after Mr Evans had move into lane three.

“The defendant was very close to Mr Evans. They were almost side by side,” he added.

CCTV footage showed that before the impact, the gap between the motorbike and car was 0.48 seconds, which Mr Wilson said contravened the Highway Code when driving in wet conditions.

“After the collision, the defendant did not stop. He did not report the incident to the police,” said Mr Wilson.

“This was done by other road others at around 6pm.”

The prosecutor added that accident scene investigators from Gwent Police believe the incident occurred 102 metres after the vehicles were last visible on CCTV.

Mr Wilson added that Mr Evans struck a lamppost on the central reservation, and that after Sweeting had left the scene, he attempted to cover up the accident by re-applying paint to his car and fixing dents.

The court heard that due to the curvature of the motorway, the damage to the motorbike was on the off-side while the car’s damage was to the near-side.

“The near-side door and front wing had been recently cleaned,” said Mr Wilson, “the front side alloy had been scuffed."

Mr Wilson added that the foot peg of Mr Evans’ bike had been damaged in the crash, and that investigators corroborated the damage to the bike with that to the car.

Sweeting was arrested on December 28, 2015, as he was the owner of a white Mini Cooper and interviewed by police, the prosecutor added.

Mr Wilson told the court that during interview, he told the police he had made the repairs to his car after it had been vandalised in the November before the accident.

On June 20, 2016, Sweeting was questioned by police and changed his statement about how the damage to his car was caused.

Mr Wilson added that he provided an unprompted response to a detail of the crash.

“He did not think the motorbike was in front of him. He did not see the bike at any point spinning in front of him.

“Nothing, no sparks, nothing,” said Mr Wilson, adding that the mentioning of sparks had previously not been used during police interviews.

“He gave a different account about the damage to his car.”

Mr Wilson added that Sweeting also knew that at the time of the accident, he has a problem with his field of vision.

“He drove in that way. He drove knowing he had a problem with his eyesight,” said the prosecutor, adding that the condition affected Sweeting’s peripheral vision to the left-hand side.

The court heard that the defendant had gone to an opticians citing watery eyes as one of his symptoms, and he was given a slip to see his GP in the months before the crash.

“He was examined by a different optician, who asked him why he had not seen his GP. He said he couldn’t be bothered,” said Mr Wilson, in relation to an appointment after the Christmas Day crash.

The prosecutor added that the optician advised Sweeting not to drive, but there was no legal framework at the disposal of the optometrist to prevent the defendant from doing so.

Proceeding.