Drink driver panicked, hit kerb and went wrong way

A POLICE officer who stopped drink driver Christopher Nobes was left standing at the roadside when the 21-year-old sped away with tyres screeching. Nobes had been asked to turn off the ignition of his Ford Fiesta, but instead of getting out he panicked an

A POLICE officer who stopped drink driver Christopher Nobes was left standing at the roadside when the 21-year-old sped away with tyres screeching.

Nobes had been asked to turn off the ignition of his Ford Fiesta, but instead of getting out he panicked and drove away, hitting a kerb at Wisbech's Freedom Bridge roundabout.

He drove the wrong way round the roundabout, and the wrong way along the dual carriageway into North End, and then abandoned his car in middle of the road.

"The driver ran off and officers stopped their car and ran in pursuit," prosecutor Nicola Ebbs told Fenland magistrates on Tuesday.

"He was detained, arrested and put on the floor. He said 'I am sorry, I have been stupid' several times."

Solicitor Roger Glazebrook explained: "When the police stopped him he panicked. He knew he had been drinking and just drove away."

Hitting the kerb had affected the car's steering, he said, and the car had to be towed away.

Nobes, of Back Road, Gorefield, admitted driving when over the alcohol limit and dangerous driving.

The incident happened at about 10.45pm on August 15. Police had decided to follow Nobes after seeing him speeding in Lynn Road, said Miss Ebbs.

CCTV operators had watched his progress. A car had been coming in the opposite direction when he drove on the wrong side of the road.

Magistrates sent Nobes to Cambridge Crown Court for sentencing and gave him an interim driving ban.