An Essex motorist who panicked and drove off after seriously injuring a cyclist in a collision in Colchester while he was twice the drink-drive limit has been jailed for two years.

Sentencing 29-year-old Benjamin Bond, Judge Emma Peters said he been drinking the previous night after an argument with his ex partner and shouldn’t have got behind the wheel of his car on the morning of the collision.

The judge said: “I accept you didn’t deliberately swerve into him and that you swerved into him because you were twice the drink-drive limit and weren’t in control of yourself.”

She said after the collision Bond hadn’t had the “decency or grace” to to stop at the scene.

Bond, of Winstree Road, Stanway, admitted causing serious injury to Jayan Chandy by dangerous driving in Cowdray Avenue, Colchester- on March 3 this year, drink driving and failing to stop after an accident.

In addition to being jailed, Bond was banned from driving for 36 months.

Ipswich Crown Court heard that Mr Chandy, who was on his way to work, was cycling to Colchester station along Cowdray Avenue shortly after 6am when he was struck by Bond’s Toyota RAV4

Emma Nash, prosecuting, said Bond appeared to be overtaking Mr Chandy but had then suddenly swerved sharply to the left and struck him causing Mr Chandy to go over the Toyota before hitting the ground.

The Toyota had briefly gone on to the verge but had then driven off without stopping.

Miss Nash said Bond was aware of the accident and had later described hearing a thud “he would never forget.”

Bond was arrested after being found by police in an outbuilding at his mother’s address in Stanway and a breath test taken at 8am showed he had 71 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 35.

The court heard that Mr Chandy suffered a fractured clavicle which required surgery to insert a plate and pins, and six broken ribs. He also suffered damage to his teeth and pain to his knees, wrists, heel, hip and headaches.

In a victim impact statement, he described being unable to sleep because of pain from his injuries and the devastating financial impact of not being able to work.

Hugh Vass, for Bond, said his client had panicked and driven off after the collision and was remorseful.