Peter Morrison (English footballer)

Manchester-born Morrison joined the youth academy at Bolton Wanderers at the start of the 1996–97 season, straight from school.[1] He turned professional at the age of 17,[2] and was an unused substitute for the first team during the 1998–99 season.[3] He remained at the Reebok Stadium until May 2000, when with a year still left on his Bolton contract, he joined Scunthorpe United, hoping for regular first-team football.[4][5] Under manager Brian Laws, Morrison featured in 34 first-team games in his first six months with the club, but on 14 February 2001, he suffered a horror tackle from Grimsby Town defender Ben Chapman which resulted in a double compound fracture to his left leg. The game was abandoned. The injury caused Morrison to retire from the game after 18 months of injury and seven operations.[5] He was eventually awarded more than £450,000 compensation.[6]

Upon his premature retirement, Morrison started working for his own agent based in the North East.[5]

On 7 November 2017, Morrison was convicted at Carlisle Crown Court of causing death by dangerous driving, following an incident on the M6 motorway in Cumbria on 21 February 2016 when Adam Gibb, a Highways England Traffic Officer was killed and his Traffic Officer colleague Paul Holroyd was left paralysed from the chest down after being struck by a Mercedes 4x4 driven by Morrison. The court was told he had been speeding and sending text messages shortly before the incident. On 19 January 2018, Morrison was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment.[7] In April 2018 Morrison’s sentence was increased to nine years by the Court of Appeal after referral by the Solicitor General who deemed the original sentence to be too short.