Drink-driver on wrong side of road nearly caused head-on crash

Luke Vincent, 27, was behind the wheel of a Ford Mondeo on High Road, Felixstowe, on September 25 last year at around 10pm when another driver saw the car coming straight towards her, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

She was forced to swerve onto the other side of the road to avoid a crash, said Simon Connolly, prosecuting.

The Mondeo continued along the road, and the other driver saw it turn right before the car's lights were switched off.

The woman called the police as she was concerned about the manner of the driving and the fact that there were pedestrians walking in the vicinity, said Mr Connolly.

While the vehicle was on Garrison Lane, it kept drifting onto the wrong side of the road and then swerving back, and was straddling the central white lines, the court heard.

Police located the Mondeo in Adastral Close and noted the front tyres of the vehicle were completely flat.

Vincent was nearby knocking on the front door of a house and mumbling about getting his Xbox back.

He initially refused to provide his details for a roadside breath test and was arrested.

He subsequently provided a sample of breath at the police station which showed he had 117 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg in 100ml of breath.

Vincent, of Stables Road, Felixstowe, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and dangerous driving at an earlier hearing.

He was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for two years, a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement and ordered to do 150 hours' unpaid work.

He was also banned from driving for two years and fined £250 and ordered to pay £340 costs.

Sentencing him, Recorder Jeremy Benson said the woman who called the police after having to swerve to avoid a collision with Vincent’s car had been worried he was going to kill someone.

The court heard Vincent, who had no previous convictions, had suffered a relationship break-up prior to the offences