Now Playing

Drunk driver found in bed as police arrest him after fleeing scene of crash

3 December 2024, 13:45 | Updated: 3 December 2024, 18:49

A drunk driver who was spotted "running away" from the scene of a crash asked police if they could "speak tomorrow" as officers found him lying in bed.

Karl Coleman was more than twice the legal alcohol limit after hitting a parked car in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on 21 October and has been banned from driving for 20 months.

Without reporting the incident to police, the 45-year-old walked home to Lime Avenue, but not before a witness called the police.

That's when officers went to his home - and were asked if they could "speak to me tomorrow" after they told him he had been seen running from his car in Grosvenor Road.

In bodycam footage released by Cambridgeshire Police, Coleman replied "no comment" when asked if he'd had a drink and said he didn't know where his car was.

Once on his feet, police did a breathalyser test, recording a sample of 86, which was well over the legal limit of 35.

With what appeared to be a cigarette in his hand, he asked if he could "have a light" as police explained they had to take him to a police station.

"Listen, you can nick me for that," he said, just before officers told him he was being arrested.

"That's fair enough," he then added, before responding incoherently when told he couldn't smoke and telling them "I'll admit to anything".

He appeared at Peterborough Magistrates' Court on Friday, where he admitted to drink driving and failing to stop after a collision, being fined £400 as well in the process.

Read more:
Murder that remains one of UK's longest-running unsolved cases
Cat in pipe with less-than-purrfect result
Large sinkhole opens up in South Wales

PC Kirsty Hulley, who investigated, said Coleman "tried to hide what he had done by leaving the scene and not reporting the collision to us".

"However, thanks to a member of the public who did the right thing, we were able to arrest Coleman and put him before the courts where he has now been disqualified from driving," she added.