Van driver was so drunk he didn't remember crashing into garden wall

A van driver was so drunk he didn't realise he had crashed into a garden wall
-Credit:Cambridgeshire Constabulary


A van driver who was so drunk he didn't realise he had crashed into a wall has escaped a jail sentence. Police found Christopher Ratcliffe slumped over the steering wheel with empty bottles of alcohol in the front of the vehicle.

Officers were called after midnight on December 19 to reports that the van had reversed into a garden wall in The Brickhills in St Neots. Ratcliffe, of Duck Lane, St Neots, told them he was parked in a layby.

He provided a roadside breath test of 148 microgrammes, more than four times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath. He failed to provide an evidential sample in custody.

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At Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (January 21), Ratcliffe was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months after pleading guilty to failing to provide. He was also disqualified from driving for three years and must undergo a 12 month alcohol treatment plan.

PC Jordan Pike, who investigated, said: “Ratcliffe was extremely intoxicated to the point he didn’t realise he had crashed into a garden wall. Further police checks also revealed he had been charged with drink driving on October 13 but had failed to appear at court. He also has previous convictions for drink driving.”

Members of the public can report suspected drink or drug driving via the Cambridgeshire Constabulary hotline on 0800 032 0845.

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