Burton Mail editor Paul Hazeldine has finally had to set the record straight over an inaccuracy in his paper that went uncorrected since January.

He was criticised by the Press Complaints Commission for failing to clear up such a “significant” error.

The paper originally reported how a coach had “collided” with a car, causing traffic hold-ups in Swadlincote, Derbyshire.

But the head of the coach firm complained that the article wrongly implied that the coach and its driver had been at fault, when it had been stationary when it was hit by the car.

The editor told the press watchdog he did not intend to publish a correction in light of the amount of time that had now passed but has now agreed to publish the full adjudication in the Mail.

He claimed the article had been based on information from the police – a point which had been explained to the complainant on the telephone while apologising to him for the error.

He added that the coach company appeared to accept his apology and had not asked for a correction to be published, but Gavin Bagnall, of Bagnall Coaches, told the PCC that no apology had been made by telephone.

In its adjudication, the Commission said it was surprised that the Mail failed to resolve such a “straightforward” matter, adding that most complaints of this type were settled quickly and amicably without any need for a formal adjudication.

The Commission report said it was clear that there had been a significant inaccuracy which had not been corrected, and the Mail had therefore breached Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the editors’ Code of Practice.

It said: “While the newspaper may have been given the wrong information by a third party, Clause 1 of the Code clearly states that ‘a significant inaccuracy… once recognised must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence’.

“The editor had failed to comply with this requirement, resulting in a breach of the Code.”

He has now reminded reporters to exercise caution when using the term “to collide”.