POLICE have called for 78-year-old motorist Edward Robinson to be taken off the road because he failed to notice when a patrol car tried to stop him by using blue flashing lights and a siren. It was only when the car got in front of him and used a STOP si

POLICE have called for 78-year-old motorist Edward Robinson to be taken off the road because he failed to notice when a patrol car tried to stop him by using blue flashing lights and a siren.

It was only when the car got in front of him and used a STOP sign that the pensioner pulled over in his silver Mercedes.

Robinson had earlier been driving at speeds of between 15mph and 20mph along the A141 between Chatteris and March, as he drove himself and his wife home from a trip to a garden centre.

Several times he crossed the central white line.

"His driving fell below the standard of a competent driver," prosecutor John Nooijen told Fenland magistrates on Wednesday. He said Robinson, whose speed increased to 50mph after he crossed a solid white line on the road at the Manea junction, had been a danger to other road users.

A police report said: "The court should consider, because of his age and ability, whether he is fit to drive. The magistrates should consider revoking his licence on grounds of safety."

Robinson, a retired managing direction of Dartford Road, March, admitted driving carelessly on November 1 last year - his first conviction in 50 years of driving.

Mitigating, Andrew Spence said Robinson was in a great deal of pain at the time, but had since undergone a hip replacement operation.

"He accepts in hindsight the pain he was in must have affected the manner of his driving," he said. "He now feels in a position to drive safely again."

Robinson's GP said he could carry on driving.

The magistrates ordered a medical report and adjourned the case until August 9.