Drink driver caught napping in police base car park

A drink-driver found napping inside his vehicle outside a Northamptonshire Police station has been jailed after being caught more than twice over the legal alcohol limit.

A Roads Policing Officer found the 42-year-old sleeping beauty at the wheel of his black Land Rover Discovery when she returned to the Pytchley Motorway Post at about 6am on May 25 this year.

Concerned for his welfare, the officer knocked on the driver’s window, and when the startled driver opened his door, she spotted a glass of liquid in the central console and suspected that he was intoxicated.

However, when the officer asked a colleague to bring her a breathalyser, William Cawley, of Shadoxhurst, Kent, started the engine and when told to switch it off, he said no and drove off, mounting the curb and nearly colliding with a fence.

After heading into a nearby leisure centre car park, Cawley made one last dash to evade the police as he drove on the wrong side of the road and the incorrect way around a roundabout before being stopped in Pytchley Lane, Pytchley.

Cawley was arrested and went on to be charged with driving a motor vehicle when the alcohol level is above the limit after providing an evidential reading of 74 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

He was also charged with driving while disqualified, driving without due care and attention, driving with no insurance, and failing to stop when directed by a police constable.

On May 26, Cawley pleaded guilty to all the charges at Northampton Magistrates’ Court and sentenced to 16 weeks in prison, handed a lengthy driving disqualification of 46 months, and ordered to pay £187 victim surcharge.

If you suspect someone is driving while disqualified or under the influence of alcohol, report it online or call Northamptonshire Police on 101. Alternatively, you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Always call 999 in the event of an emergency, such as a crime in progress or where life is at risk.