Teen drink-driver’s lucky escape after crash on the A27

Police responded to a report of an overturned Vauxhall Corsa on the A27 at Tangmere at about 5am on Friday, December 12.

The driver and sole occupant identified himself as 18-year-old Oliver Durrant, a railway employee, of St Winifreds Close, Bognor.

He was checked over at the scene by paramedics, who stated he was “very lucky” not to have killed or seriously injured himself or anyone else.

Durrant admitted he “shouldn’t have driven”, and in police interview he disclosed he had been driving home from a night out in Chichester having consumed several alcoholic drinks.

He was breathalysed and found to have 52 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath in his system. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.

He was charged with drink-driving and appeared before Worthing Magistrates’ Court on January 13, where he was disqualified from driving for 14 months, fined £350, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £140 victim surcharge.

Durrant is among the latest 15 people to be convicted as part of Sussex Police’s Christmas crackdown on drink and drug-drivers.

A total of 279 people were arrested during the operation, which ran from December 1 to January 1.

Of these, so far 32 have been convicted. These are the latest individuals to have lost their licence:

• Jamie Cornwall, 40, a retail sales assistant, of Ashdown Avenue, Saltdean, was arrested in Crowhurst Road, Brighton, on December 2 and charged with failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis. At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on January 15, he was disqualified from driving for 48 months, made subject to a 120-day alcohol abstinence requirement, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

• Korina Pagkali, 35, a beautician, of Richmond Terrace, Brighton, was arrested in Ditchling Road, Brighton, on December 2, and charged with driving with 41 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, failing to comply with traffic lights and failing to comply with a traffic sign. At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on January 15, she was disqualified from driving for 14 months, fined £240, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £96 victim surcharge.

• Barrie Allen, 45, a deliveryman, of Overbury Crescent, Croydon, was arrested in Brighton Road, Lewes, on December 4 and charged with failing to provide a specimen of blood for analysis. At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on January 15, he was disqualified from driving for 44 months, given a 12-month community order, fined £180, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

• Darren Packman, 52, a quantity surveyor, of Cantium Place, Snodland, Kent, was arrested on the A23 at Pyecombe, on December 5, and charged with driving with 70 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath and careless driving. At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on January 16, he was disqualified from driving for 20 months, fined £769, and ordered to pay £308 costs and a £85 victim surcharge.

• Frederick Walker, 25, a scaffolder, of Elm Grove, Caterham, was arrested in Cradle Hill Road, Seaford, on December 6 and charged with driving with 63 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath. At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on January 16, he was disqualified from driving for 36 months, fined £120, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 victim surcharge.

• Michal Furmanek, 38, a factory maintenance employee, of Cotton Walk, Crawley, was arrested in Horsham Road, Crawley, on December 8 and charged with driving with 81 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath. At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on January 13, he was disqualified from driving for 40 months, fined £120, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 victim surcharge.

• Toby White, 48, a carpenter, of Pipers Field, Uckfield, was arrested on the A26 at Lewes on December 9 and charged with driving with 64 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath. At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on January 16, he was disqualified from driving for 17 months, fined £461, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £184 victim surcharge.

• William Hart, 25, a landscape gardener, of Park Road, Worthing, was arrested in Ashacre Lane, Worthing, on December 13, and charged with driving with 46 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath and failing to report a road traffic collision having been involved in it. At Worthing Magistrates’ Court on January 13, he was disqualified from driving for 16 months, fined £461, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £184 victim surcharge.

• Lesley Chapman, 63, unemployed, of Torton Hill Road, Arundel, was arrested in the same road on December 14 and charged with being in charge of a vehicle with 66 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath in her system. At Worthing Magistrates’ Court on January 13, her licence was endorsed with ten penalty points, and she was ordered to pay £85 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.

• Arlind Uka, 26, unemployed, of World’s End Estate, Kensington, was arrested in Northgate Avenue, Crawley, on December 19 and charged with failing to provide a specimen of blood for analysis. At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on January 13, he was disqualified from driving for 46 months, given a 12-month community order requiring him to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

• Casey North, 20, a bar worker, of Holly Drive, Copthorne, was arrested in Pegler Way, Crawley, on December 19, and charged with driving with 65 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, driving with no licence, driving with no insurance and driving a vehicle in a dangerous condition. At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on January 13, he was disqualified from driving for 18 months, fined £184, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £147 victim surcharge.

• Ayesha Muhammad Hatton, 29, a student, of Mandeville Court, London, was arrested in Exchange Road, Crawley, on December 20, and charged with driving with 60 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, driving with no licence and driving with no insurance. At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on January 14, she was disqualified from driving for 17 months, fined £120 and ordered to pay a £96 victim surcharge.

• Dilesh Dusara, 42, a builder, of Purley Downs Road, Croydon, was arrested on the A23 at Pease Pottage on December 23 and charged with driving with 88 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath. At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on January 14, he was disqualified from driving for 22 months, fined £652, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £261 victim surcharge.

• Tony Ellis, 28, a builder, of Kitchener Avenue, Chatham, was arrested on the A2219 at Crawley on December 26 and charged with driving with 79 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath. At Crawley Magistrates’ Court on January 15, he was disqualified from driving for 20 months, fined £400, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £160 victim surcharge.

Sussex Police said the consequences of drink or drug-driving could include:

• Killing or seriously injuring yourself or someone else;
• A minimum 12-month ban;
• An unlimited fine;
• A possible prison sentence;
• A criminal record, which could affect your current and future employment;
• An increase in your car insurance costs;
• Difficulty travelling to countries such as the USA.

If you know someone is driving while over the limit or after taking drugs, call 999.

You can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or report it online.