William Beer, 96, has been put behind bars for more than two years (Pictures: Rex/Gwent Police)

A 96-year-old man has been jailed after he ran over a pedestrian despite being advised not to drive because of his deteriorating eyesight.

William Beer drove into Illtyd Morgan who was using a Zimmer frame to walk down a residential street in the Welsh town of Caerphilly, on April 6 last year.

When police arrived at the scene they discovered he could not read a licence plate from more than seven metres away.

Drivers in the UK are required to be able to read a registration number from a distance of at least 20 metres.

Mr Morgan was tragically pronounced dead later that day.

Newport Crown Court heard how an optician warned Beer not to drive in March 2019, when he was diagnosed with bilateral cataracts and macular degeneration.

Beer, a former coal miner who worked in the pits during the Second World War, stopped driving for some time and left it up to his wife.

Newport Crown Court agreed there was ‘considerable personal mitigation’ in Beer’s case (Picture: Rex)

But he got behind the wheel again when she started suffering from dementia and could not drive herself.

Beer told the court he believed his eyesight had improved after undergoing treatment for it since 2019.

However, Judge Richard Williams said he did not think Beer was ‘being truthful about this’.

He told him: ‘The best that might be said about it is that you may have felt that you were obliged to drive despite your poor eyesight because you were devoted to your wife, and you were determined to look after her yourself.’

It also came out that in an application for Beer to renew his licence submitted in November 2019 he did not declare any medical conditions.

Beer admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for two years and four months and banned him from driving for six years and two months.

His lawyer asked the court to take into account client’s situation at the time of the crash, as full-time carer for his wife of 40 years, be considered.

He also explained that Beer was in mourning having only recently lost his wife, whose funeral took place 10 days ago.

The attorney added: ‘Mr Beer is a man of impeccable character who lived his life as a gentleman who cared for others and put them before himself and is the most sought after and loved member of his large extended family.’

In a statement read to the court the victim’s widow, Hazel Morgan, said: ‘I still cannot believe that he will not be coming home to me. He was not only my husband but my friend and companion.

‘I miss so many things we used to do together. We were lucky to have 58 years together, and they were 58 happy years. I miss us chatting and laughing together and watching TV.’

Mr Morgan’s son, Gareth, said: ‘My father was a very hard-working man and I wish I had his determination and strength of will.

‘My father voluntarily gave up his licence due to his failing eyesight despite the inconvenience of losing his independence and his limited physical mobility – but that was my father for you. He would do the right thing, regardless of the impact that this would cause.’

He added that Beer’s ‘actions of putting [his] independence before the safety of others has caused so much unnecessary pain and suffering’.

Before handing out his sentence, judge Williams said: ‘There is considerable personal mitigation in your case and the court is entitled to show a degree of mercy to an offender of advanced years in any event.’

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The 96-year-old was behind the wheel despite being told not to drive in 2019.