Drunk driver banned following collision

The collision took place at a junction in Columbell Lane, Ashover, at 9.45am on November 18, Chesterfield magistrates heard.

Peugeot 206 driver Max Richards pulled into the path of an Audi A3. He exchanged details with the other driver and then walked off towards Matlock.

“The Audi driver called police and the defendant was found staggering around in the road in muddy clothes and smelling of alcohol. He refused to give a breath specimen at the police station,” said Becky Mahon, prosecuting. “He said he had drunk three glasses of wine before driving.”

Richards, 38, formerly of Cavendish Road, Matlock, and now of Wellington Street, Matlock, admitted careless driving and failing to provide a breath specimen for analysis. He was banned from driving for three years and fined £240, with £85 costs.

“He had just been involved in an accident and he didn’t know what was happening and he was scared,” said Denney Lau, for Richards. “He had been offered a position as a painter and decorator but he needed to be able to drive.”