Wigan drink driver crashed car then attempted to drive on

Kurt Walmsley was more than double the drink-drive limit when he “embedded” his car into another vehicle, then tried to drive off without notifying anyone of the smash.

The 27-year-old was then pursued by the resident who detained him until police arrived.

Appearing at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court, Walmsley pleaded guilty to drink driving, as well as driving without insurance, driving whilst disqualified and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

The incident occurred at around 11pm on June 3. It was a Sunday evening when a resident in Smiths Lane, Hindley Green, heard a loud crash outside his home.

Through the window, he noticed Walmsley’s Peugeot “embedded” into another vehicle. He was revving his engine in efforts to dislodge the car, and was eventually successful.

The resident then took it upon himself to chase Walmsley, jumping in his van and pursuing the fleeing driver.

It was only a short while later that the man found Walmsley’s car, and detained him under a citizen’s arrest, keeping him at the scene until police arrived.

After he was arrested, a breath test provided a minimum sample of 76mgs of alcohol in Walmsley’s system. The legal limit is 35mgs.

Defending, solicitor Nick Woosey told Justices how his client had been living in his car at the time of the incident, after relationships with his family broke down.

His life has “escalated into a downward spiral” according to Mr Woosey, which he reacted to by drinking alcohol.

The case has been referred to Crown Court after it was revealed that, at the time of the offence, Walmsley was already serving a suspended sentence for dangerous driving and again being at the wheel without insurance.

Prosecutors described Walmsley as having “driven a horse and cart” through the court’s requests by doing explicitly what he had been told not to do. He will be sentenced at Bolton Crown Court on July 4.