A NEW Forest pensioner left for dead after a horrific road accident has hit out at the "lenient" sentence handed down to the driver.

Frank Kelly, 76, spent six weeks in hospital after he was mown down by Michael Baker, who then panicked and drove off at speed.

Yesterday, Baker was fined £1,000 at Southampton Crown Court and banned from driving for six months.

After the case Mr Kelly broke down as he described the devastating effect the accident has had on his life, and said Baker should have been jailed.

The elderly widower said: "I was thrown into the air and left lying in the road in agony, but the driver just took off.

"I was in a terrible state - someone who saw me thought I was dead.

"I think the driver should have been put inside for a while. If he had hit a child they could have been killed."

Mr Kelly said the accident affected his memory and had also left him virtually blind in one eye, forcing him to give up driving. The ex-soldier also spoke of the psychological damage inflicted by the collision.

"I used to be a hard nut," he said. "Before the crash you could have hit me with a crowbar and I wouldn't have cried. Now, anything can make me cry."

Mr Kelly, of Holly Road, Blackfield, was crossing the Blackfield to Holbury road when the accident happened.

The court was told that Baker panicked and drove home but returned to the scene about 25 minutes later after speaking to his mother.

Mr Kelly had already been taken to Southampton General Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a broken arm and leg, multiple rib fractures, a collapsed lung and a lacerated liver.

Baker, 23, of Ashlett Mews, Fawley, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and failing to stop after an accident.

David Reid, in mitigation, said Baker had suffered a momentary lapse of attention. He saw Mr Kelly too late and swerved to avoid an accident, but the nearside of his car collided with the victim.

Baker could lose his job as a panel- beater as a result of being disqualified from driving, the court heard.

Baker's plea of not guilty to dangerous driving was accepted by the prosecution.