A motorist has been cleared of causing the death by dangerous driving of a teenager killed when the mast of a boat he was towing smashed through the windscreen of the car she was in.

Mark Tissiman was instead found guilty of an alternative charge of careless driving following the accident which killed Sarah James, of Highley, near Bridgnorth. Miss James, aged 19, suffered head injuries after the mast from the sailing dinghy smashed through the windscreen.

It happened on a country road near Bewdley in June last year, the court heard.

Tissiman, 48, of Kidderminster Road, Bewdley, who was driving a Range Rover towing the boat, was yesterday banned from driving for six months. He was also fined £1,500 and ordered to pay £135 costs.

He was driving home after a day’s sailing at Chelmarsh Reservoir, near Bridgnorth, when he passed an oncoming Rover saloon car carrying Miss James and her friend Duncan Smith, Hereford Crown Court heard.

The mast of the dinghy had worked itself loose from its fastening and collided with the Rover, the court was told.

Mr Peter Arnold, prosecuting, had described the collision as a tragic accident.

He said: “It (the mast) pierced the windscreen like a lance in a medieval jousting contest. The victim did not stand a chance.

“The defendant realised something was wrong, turned his vehicle around and returned to the scene of the collision. He was shocked by what he found.”

Describing the incident as “a unique accident”, Mr Simon Morgan defending Tissiman said yesterday: “This is a tragic case. It is something Mr Tissiman will have to live with for the rest of his life.”

Tissiman, a father of three, had earlier fought back tears as he told the court he was “absolutely devastated” when he discovered the mast had left the trailer and hit Miss James.

The court heard that a boat rigging expert, John Thorn found there were deficiencies in the way the mast had been secured for the journey.