A grieving pensioner, acquitted by a Crown Court judge of causing the death of his wife by careless driving, has spoken of the “horrendous ordeal” he had suffered since the tragedy.

Ian Pitt, 76, had been accused of committing the offence on January 18 last year when the Ford Fiesta he was driving was involved in an accident at Cononley Bends on the A629 near Skipton.

His 83-year-old wife Doreen, who was in the passenger seat of the car, suffered a broken rib and breastbone. She died six days later.

Mr Pitt, of Queensway, Yeadon, was acquitted at a hearing at Bradford Crown Court yesterday after the prosecution offered no evidence against him.

Afterwards he criticised the police for treating him with no sympathy at a time when he “suffered a great loss”.

He told the Telegraph & Argus: “Rather than being able to grieve for my wife in peace I have had to spend many months fighting this case.

“It has been horrific. I feel like both myself and my family have been treated like criminals.

“At long last this horrendous ordeal is over. If only the police would have listened to me all those months ago I think this whole case could have been avoided. All I have ever done is tell the truth about what happened.”

Mr Pitt thanked his family and his defence team who helped him through the “difficult times”.

He said: “I hope I am now left in peace to grieve for Doreen and re-build my life”

Mr Pitt had elected to stand trial at Bradford Crown Court but at a hearing yesterday prosecution barrister Tom Storey told the court the Crown Prosecution Service had decided not to pursue the prosecution any further.

Judge Shaun Spencer QC accepted a plea of not guilty in Mr Pitt’s absence and recorded a not guilty verdict after no evidence was offered by prosecuters.

Mr Storey told the court: “There has been an ongoing review of the case and since the matter was last before your honour the defendant has undergone a medical with his general practitioner, the results of which have been communicated with the DVLA.

“They have decided on the basis of this medical examination that he is fit and safe to drive.”

Mr Storey said the decision of the DVLA had, in part, informed the decision of the Crown Prosecution Service not to pursue the prosecution any further.

Judge Spencer said: “The decision was obviously a sensible one to take.”

After the hearing Mr Pitt’s solicitor Ian Hudson said: “Having recently spoken to Mr Pitt I can confirm he is hugely relieved at the outcome. He has always maintained the collision on January 18, 2011, was a tragic accident.

“Mr Pitt has not only had to deal with the loss of his wife Doreen, but has also had to cope with the stress of the relentless police investigation and prosecution for the last 14 months.”

Also speaking after the case Sergeant Pete Stringer, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “Although we respect today’s verdict we feel it was the correct decision to bring the case before the courts.

“We will now await the outcome of the inquest and so it would not be appropriate to comment further until the coroner has delivered his verdict.”