Swaffham bus driver who crashed his car at King's Lynn roundabout admits drink-driving

Police called to a road traffic incident in Lynn found an injured drink-driver whose car had hit and “cleared” a roundabout.

Paramedics were tending to bus driver Christopher Denman on the A47 at Constitution Hill.

Lynn Magistrates’ Court was told on Thursday that he had rowed with his partner on the phone as he drove home to Carter Close, Swaffham from his workplace in Bury St Edmunds.

As a result Denman, 36, didn’t want to go home and instead to drove to a garage in Spalding where he bought and consumed Heineken lager and rum.

“He knew he was going to be over the limit but drove home anyway,” said prosecutor Colette Harper.

She added that the crash happened when he applied his brakes too late, hit a roundabout and “cleared” it.

An ambulance crew came across the Audi A4 with its hazard lights on at about 1.15am on February 26.

After being taken to hospital for treatment, Denman blew 57 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

He pleaded guilty to drink-driving and driving without due care and attention.

Tiffany Meredith, mitigating, said the defendant had immediately lost his job as a result of being charged.

“Driving was not only his job but his passion,” she added, saying that he covered 50,000 miles a year and was previously a taxi driver.

Miss Meredith said he had used drink to try and block difficulties he had been struggling with and had made an “extremely bad decision” that night.

For drink-driving, Denman was disqualified from driving for 16 months, which can be cut with completion of a drink-driver rehabilitation course and fined £120.

For driving without due care and attention he was fined £80 and his licence will be endorsed. He was ordered to pay £105 costs and £34 victim surcharge.