WHEN a driver swerved to avoid a fox his car spun round in the road.
No other vehicle was involved in the early morning accident and the driver decided to warn oncoming traffic his car, a blue Audi A4, was facing the wrong way by waving them down with a white towel.
Among the cars was a police patrol vehicle. The officer breathalysed Trust Gangata, 38, who turned out to be almost twice the legal drink drive limit.
Gangata, of Lindsey Road, Leeds, currently unemployed as a carer, pleaded guilty to drink driving when he appeared before Bridlington magistrates.
Prosecutor, Michael Waudby, said around 2.35am on November 19 the police saw Gangata standing in the middle of the A614 at Nafferton flagging down traffic with a white towel. A car in the road was facing the wrong way.
Gangata told them he had been driving along when a fox ran out in front of him. He tried to avoid it but collided with a triangular central island near the roundabout.
He failed a roadside breath test and a later test at the police station showed he had 69 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
At the time he refused to say anything in answer to questions about the incident, including to confirm he had been driving the car.
Ed Cunnah, mitigating, said Gangata had been driving for 20 years and had a clean licence.
“He is so distressed to have found himself in this situation,” said Mr Cunnah who described Gangata as having worked as a home carer travelling to people’s homes in his own vehicle.
In May this year he had returned to Africa for two months and lost his job. He has been unable to find work since.
“Mr Gangata said nothing at the police station because he had telephoned a solicitor who advised him to make no comment. He was trying to wave down traffic because he had an accident. He had braked suddenly and the car struck an island in the middle of the road on the approach to the roundabout and spun round.
“He behaved quite properly to ensure other drivers were aware of the obstruction,” said Mr Cunnah.
He added Mr Gangata, married with three children, had been drinking due to the stress of trying to find work.
Magistrate Sue Ackrill told him: “This is just an unfortunate incident, we understand you were just trying to help people. We have reduced the driving ban down to 16 months plus offer you a Reform course which can bring it down to just 12 months. This is as low as we can go.”
Gangata was also fined £100 with £65 costs and £15 victims surcharge.