AN ARISTOCRAT who sold a Turner masterpiece for £30 million has escaped with just six penalty points and a £400 fine after driving his Land Rover into a rambler on his estate.
Neil Archibald Primrose, the seventh Earl of Rosebery and third Earl of Midlothian, knocked down retired teacher Carol Murphy in April 2017 as she strolled around the grounds of Dalmeny House with a women's walking group.
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The 89-year-old earl plead guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to driving without due care and attention.
Sheriff Peter McCormack said he would not disqualify the peer over a "very brief error of judgment".
However, Mrs Murphy, 62 who was left with a broken elbow, said the punishment was ridiculous.
Mrs Murphy, 62, from West Calder in West Lothian, said: "A £400 fine is ridiculously low for someone who recently sold a painting for £30 million.
"It is hardly much of a punishment for him. I feel let down by the courts. More than a year on, I still suffer from nerve pain right down my arm - it is far from trivial for me."
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In 2014, the earl's JMW Turner masterpiece 'Rome, From Mount Aventine' fetched £30m at auction. He said he needed to sell the artwork to pay for repairs to Dalmeny Estate.
The earl was originally charged with dangerous driving and leaving the scene of an accident. However, the charge was reduced to driving without due care and attention, which carries a maximum £5,000 fine, while an allegation that he "did knowingly fail to stop his vehicle" was dropped.
Mrs Murphy said: "One of the group shouted that a car was coming. We all heard the roar of the engine. He did not beep, not once.
"We all stepped quickly on to the grass verge to make sure we were off the road. The lady next to me shouted my name just before I was struck on the shoulder and arm.
"He seemed to swerve towards me as I was fully off the road. It was such a shock, and the force of it spun me around before I fell to the ground. The driver then accelerated and drove off and one of my group called an ambulance for me."
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The court heard that the earl was not under the influence of alcohol, subsequently passed a compulsory eyesight test and told police that he had tooted his horn twice at the ramblers and only drove on when he believed they were "out of the way".
The earl's solicitor, Jim Stephenson, said: "He thought they had moved. He was unaware Miss Murphy had come into contact with the vehicle. It's rather unfortunate."
The earl told the Scottish Daily Mail that he was sure he had not been driving above 20mph.
He said: "I am happy the public use the estate but I do feel that the road is quite narrow and when horns are blown people should move. She was standing on the grass but she might have had her arm out."
Asked if he could have afforded a higher fine, he said: "It costs a lot of money to keep an estate going. Money goes in and money comes out."
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