A grandfather who was knocked over by a BMW driver while out walking his dog has described the devastating impact of the crash.

Nathan Burgoyne, 26, formerly of Bouverie Road West in Folkestone, was found guilty of careless driving, banned for eight months and ordered to pay £5,000 within six months, or face prison.

A court heard how Burgoyne hit Andrew Lawrence, 53, and his seven-year-old Hungarian Vizsla gundog Dizzy - who later had to be put down - in Radnor Park Road in April 2015.

Mr Lawrence, of Broadmead Road, Folkestone, told KentOnline's sister paper, the Folkestone & Hythe Express this week that the outcome was what he had hoped for.

He said: “I am so happy he was found guilty of the lesser charge with a unanimous verdict and I am pleased with the sentence he got.

“If he had gone to prison he would probably have been out in a few months, no ban and no fine.

“It would have been like a holiday for him and he would have come out thinking he was a gangster.

“This way he walks around with people knowing he is a mug.”

Father-of-three Mr Lawrence said he was laid up on a makeshift bed in his kitchen for four months after the accident.

The self-employed skating instructor has vowed to return to his profession once his injuries have fully healed.

Mr Lawrence said the loss of his dog is what has affected him most.

He said: “Dizzy was more human than anything else, she came skating with me and she was phenomenal.

“He (Burgoyne) showed no compassion towards the dog that lost her life and that is callous.

“It is sickening, I can get better but the dog didn’t need to die that way.”

He said he would usually take his dog for a walk at night so she could go to the toilet.

“We went around the block, up by the park and there was nothing around. We had crossed there hundreds of times before.

“My whole life was so active and then it just stopped, I couldn’t even walk and I couldn’t get out of bed for four months.

“My whole right side was smashed up and I couldn’t make myself mobile, I had no movement in my leg.

“It was the worst time of my life, my life was brilliant and then it suddenly stopped.”