Dad panicked after wrecking car as he fiddled with radio

But Damien Bamber walked away from court with his licence, despite admitting to failing to stop after an accident; failing to report and driving without due care and attention when he appeared at Wigan Magistrates’ Court,

Steve Woodman, prosecuting, said that on October 10 last year the 30-year-old was driving his Ford Focus along Lancaster Road, in Hindley, when the father-of-two collided with a parked Ford Fiesta and as he swerved, his own car flipped on its side.

He said: “A number of residents saw what happened and assisted him out of the car. He then made off from the scene.

“Police caught up with him at a later date and he made a full admission to driving without due care and attention and failing to stop and report. He said after the crash he was in a state of panic and that’s why he left the scene.”

Karen Schofield, defending, said: “It was a momentary lapse in concentration as for a split second he took his eyes off the road to change the radio channel. He banged his head and panicked. He knew the police would be knocking on his door. There were people about and no-one asked him to stay. His car has had to be scrapped.

“He had learnt a stark lesson and won’t be changing the radio channel again.”

She added that Bamber, who has previous convictions, was a machine operator and would often pick up other workers.

Bamber, a father-of-two, of Borsdane Avenue, Hindley, was fined £300 for failing to stop and a further £300 for not reporting the accident.

He received no separate penalty for driving without due care and attention. His licence was endorsed with 10 penalty points and he was also ordered to pay £30 victim surcharge and £85 costs.