AN ARISTOCRAT has had a conviction for pranging his BMW quashed as he wasn't able to attend court - because he crashed his motorbike into a deer on his land.

David Brudenell-Bruce, Earl of Cardigan, had been due to face trial in August after being accused of smashing into a nurse's car and driving off while taking his wife to hospital.

He didn't arrive in court and so was found guilty in his absence - fined £2,126 and given six penalty points on his licence.

But he has since proved he failed to show because he'd had had an accident near his home in Savernake Forest, Wilts., on the night before his hearing.

The 66-year-old had been watching football in a local pub and was riding home when he lost control of his 1200cc machine as a deer and a calf ran across the road.

He was trapped under his motorbike for several hours before being rescued by emergency services in the early hours of the next day and taken to hospital.

He remained there until the afternoon, when he was told to go home and look after himself.

The CPS has now agreed to ''set aside'' the conviction and he will face a retrial.

He said: “I was pinned under the bike. I managed to get my phone and rang 999. I spoke to the ambulance control but I waited and waited and no-one turned up.

“Then a police car arrived and they managed to lift the bike off of me.

''Eventually an ambulance turned up and they for some reason cut all my clothes off of me and did some tests.

“They then took me to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon, Wilts., where I was on a trolley for hours and then it was decided they would take me home and I was told to rest for the rest of the day.”

But Mr Brudenell-Bruce woke the next day to find the case had gone ahead and he had been found guilty of careless driving, driving without insurance and failing to report an accident.

The furious Earl decided to appeal the judgement - and has now been awarded a new trial date.

He added: "The case just gaily pressed on - with only one party present - and I was duly convicted. I didn’t think that sort of thing happened in the United Kingdom."

A CPS spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the magistrates at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court decided on October 29 2019 that a hearing should be listed to allow David Brudenell-Bruce to represent himself at his trial on February 29 2020 following evidence provided to them by the defence.

“Mr Brudenell-Bruce’s conviction after trial in his absence on August 28 2019 was set aside at the court as he provided evidence that he was still in hospital until the afternoon of the date the trial was listed.”

The Earl pleaded not guilty to all charges at the hearing on Tuesday (October 29).

He is accused of smashing his 16-year-old BMW into a rear wheel arch of nurse Alexandra Stephen's Seat Leon and driving off - even though £750 worth of damage was caused.