THE ex-boyfriend of model Kelly Brook crashed a van full of dead badgers into a bus shelter in Gloucester during the controversial cull, a court heard this morning.

Former Royal Marine David McIntosh, 28, a TV personality and 'hired security operative', was hired to transport the dead animals but crashed into a bus stop.

McIntosh, from Altrincham, did not appear at Stroud Magistrates' Court to face charges of driving without due care and attention and driving without a licence but pleaded guilty to both offences by post.

In his letter, which was read out in court, the former Gladiator star said he was distracted when a radio fell from the VW Transporter van he was driving in Worcester Street around 12.50am on Sunday, September 29.

"I was carrying badger carcasses to the furnace," the letter read.

"The radio was always kept on the vehicle dashboard so we could hear updates from the police about protesters.

"It slipped off the dashboard and my only option was to take my eyes off the road and reach for it.

"I tried to brake but I was too late."

However, his passenger John Parker, who was injured in the incident, told police officers that he believed McIntosh had fallen asleep at the wheel.

In a statement read out in court Mr Parker said: "We were travelling from Tewkesbury to Maisemore.

"I was checking my phone and looked up after feeling the vehicle change direction.

"I saw the bus stop in front of me and shouted.

"I can't say if he was asleep or not, but when I looked at David both of his hands were on the wheel, but his head was on his chest. I believe his eyes were shut."

The court heard that McIntosh, of Kentmere Road, in Timperley, Altrincham, was a driver for the Royal Marines and had served in Afghanistan.

The address given in court for McIntosh matches the business of his company, Next Generation Fitness Ltd.

In his letter he said he contacted DVLA after the incident and was told that his licence was revoked in 2005 for going through a red light.

"I have had numerous hire cars and have been stopped by police for random checks and not once was it flagged up," he said in his letter.

He also said he was unemployed - which a judge said she had taken into account when deciding the size of the fine.

District Judge Joti Bopa Rai said: "This is a case of driving without due care and attention and driving with a revoked licence.

"I have heard that this was part of the badger cull operation.

"I have to exclude anything to do with the badger cull. I am looking at the driving of an individual."

McIntosh was fined £91 and was ordered to pay £30 costs with a £20 victim surcharge and his licence was endorsed with six penalty points.

Anti badger cull campaigners mounted a demonstration outside the court with placards and sat in the public gallery during the hearing.

After the hearing they called for clarity on the contact between cull operators and the police during the cull.

Gloucestershire Police released this statement today: "We are aware that David McIntosh today pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and driving other than in accordance with a licence, following a road traffic collision in September last year. We are also aware of his reasons for that crash.

"We would like to make it perfectly clear that at no point during the pilot badger cull did police communicate the location of protesters to any contractors.

"Throughout Operation Themis, the policing response to the pilot badger cull, we have maintained our operational independence and ensured the safety of the public.

"We are now investigating the comments made by Mr McIntosh and determining if any further action is appropriate."