Award-winning farmer, 54, faces jail for ploughing his 7.5-tonne tractor into the side of his neighbour’s SUV – as road rage row left doctor ‘shaking like a leaf’

  • Parish councillor Andrew Hollinshead, 54, could face up to four years in prison
  • Glass from the car window caused four-inch laceration in Dr Paul Uglow’s arm 

An award-winning farmer is facing jail after he ploughed his 7.5-tonne tractor into a family GP’s car during a road rage row which started over turning out of a driveway.

Andrew Hollinshead, 54, who was named ‘Green Farmer of the Year’ at the Northern Farmer Awards in 2016, rammed his vehicle into Dr Paul Uglow’s VW Tiguan after ‘cutting him up’ at a road junction.

During the incident Dr Uglow, 48, followed Hollinshead back to his farmyard in Arclid near Sandbach, Cheshire, only for the farmer to drive his tractor straight at him – and smash into the side of his car.

The VW sustained £13,000 worth of damage whilst glass from the driver’s side window shattered in the impact causing a four-inch laceration in Dr Uglow’s arm.

At Crewe magistrates court Hollinshead, who won a slot on a BBC regional programme, was convicted of criminal damage and assault occasioning actual bodily harm after a trial. 

Andrew Hollinshead (pictured), an environmentally friendly farmer who featured on the BBC, is facing jail after ramming into a family GP’s car following a road rage row

Dr Paul Uglow (pictured) sustained a four-inch laceration after Hollinshead rammed his seven-and-a-half tonne tractor into the side of his car

He will be sentenced later but could face up to four years jail.

The incident occurred on the busy A534 at 6.20pm on July 11 last year, when Dr Uglow, who runs a surgery at Haslington medical centre near Crewe, was driving home from work having earlier collected his six-month-old puppy.

Prosecutor Simon Leong said: ‘Dr Uglow saw a tractor pull out on the right in front of him causing him to make an emergency stop. The tractor stopped and its driver gave a middle finger salute to Dr Uglow.

‘Dr Uglow then made the decision to follow the tractor as he wished to speak to the driver about what happened. 

‘At the defendant’s farm he rolled down the window, saying “Can I have a word please?” But the driver of the tractor who was about 50 yards away across the yard went straight in his direction and rammed straight into the driver’s side of the vehicle where Dr Uglow was sitting in the driver seat.

Hollinshead was named ‘Green Farmer of the Year’ at the Northern Farmer Awards in 2016

The 54-year-old pictured arriving outside Crewe magistrates court where he was convicted of criminal damage and assault occasioning actual bodily harm

‘He was applying the accelerator at the time and it caused the car door to bend and the driver’s side window to shatter, causing glass to fall on Dr Uglow, who suffered a slight injury to his right arm which was bleeding. 

‘The defendant then got out of the tractor and said “I will tell the police you pulled out in front of me.” He got back into his tractor and drove away.’

Describing being ‘cut up’ by Hollinshead, Dr Uglow told the hearing: ‘ I had to swerve hard to my left to avoid a collision with him. I hit the side embankment very hard, causing damage to the two alloy wheels. 

 ‘By the time I stopped the tractor had completed his manoeuvre and I could see the driver remonstrating, saying what I understood to be obscenities. He was saying ‘F*** off?’, ‘You are a w*****r’, ‘P**s off.’ I read his lips.’

Uglow also pictured outside Crewe magistrates court 

Hollinshead, who will be sentenced later and could face up to four years jail if the case is sent to crown court, is pictured at his farm

After then deciding to follow Hollinshead home to ‘exchange details in a civil fashion’ since his car was damaged, the farmer ‘drove across the compound’ straight into Dr Uglow’s door. 

‘There is no communication. I could not even think about getting out and speaking to him and saying “Let’s sort this out”,’ Dr Uglow said.

‘He drove straight into me. The tractor hit the front driver’s side wheel arch and the driver’s door. On the front of the tractor was a box and a couple of spiky things on it. He used that to hit my vehicle.’

The doctor described hearing a crumpling sound of metal as the door and metal structure of the car was bending and also a strange cracking sound before the side window broke showering him with glass. 

‘He kept pushing against the vehicle for what seemed like a long time. He kept pushing and the crumpling sound went on for quite a little while.’

Hollinshead, who won an award for using a wind turbine, 200 solar panels and a hydrogen refuelling station at his farm, was convicted of criminal damage and ABH

Hollishead (pictured) faces up to four years in prison after being convicted of criminal damage and ABH following a trial 

The court was played a recording of a 999 call in which Dr Uglow was heard to say that he had been deliberately rammed and had a cut on his arm. 

After Hollinshead left the scene, he told the operator that he was ‘shaking like a leaf’ and that the tractor driver was ‘an absolute animal’.

The court was shown photos of the damage to the car which included the bonnet, the windscreen, the front wheel arch, headlight, door and side window. The door had a large square shaped hole near the handle.

In his evidence, Hollinshead – who is also a parish councillor – said he had lived at the farm for 51 years, had been driving tractors since the age of 16, and drives up that section of the A534 as many as 30 or 40 times a day. 

He said he pulled out of his driveway as he has always done and Dr Uglow came racing up from behind him.

When the doctor arrived at his house he said he saw the doctor ‘coming at great speed’ down the driveway and ‘flying into our yard’.

‘He drove the car at speed straight in front of my tractor,’ he said, ‘At which point I slammed the brakes and we ended up having a bit of a collision. I revved the tractor up to back it off. I did hear a bit of a crumpling sound but I had to back the tractor off. I backed it away by 10 or 20m.

‘I got out of the tractor to go and speak to Dr Uglow. I could hear him phoning and shouting to someone. All I could hear was ‘He’s coming over to assault me.’ I shouted through the window ‘I’m not going to assault him, I’m not going to touch him.’

In convicting Hollinshead JP Frances Miller told him: ‘We accept the evidence of Dr Uglow. We thought his evidence was clear and concise and consistent when he was cross examined. 

‘Photos of the damage of the car showed the puncture hole in the driver’s side door and the other damage. We accept the evidence of the 999 call.

‘It is not credible that a car owner would place his car in front of a moving seven and a half ton vehicle with the driver side next to the vehicle.’

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