A NEW Zealand pensioner's trip to North Yorkshire for his grandson's baptism ended in a court appearance and tears yesterday.

Brian Cooper, who is staying at Howsham, near York, got lost after a day out in Harrogate, on Wednesday, and found himself heading for Skipton rather than York.

The 73-year-old told magistrates that he was preoccupied with trying to spot a road sign he had missed. He did not see that the car in front, on the A59 at Fewston, had stopped, and he ran into the back of it.

When he pleaded guilty to careless driving, Cooper burst into tears as he told the bench how he had come over from New Zealand for the christening of his first grandson, and had been enjoying his trip until the accident.

"I thought I was going towards York and I was going the opposite way. I became concerned I was going in the wrong direction," he said.

Cooper was fined £120 with £55 costs.