KentOnline

bannermobile

News

Sport

Business

What's On

Advertise

Contact

Other KM sites

CORONAVIRUS WATCH KMTV LIVE SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTERS LISTEN TO OUR PODCASTS LISTEN TO KMFM
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE
News

Margate drink driver jailed after swerving across road and getting out of car with beer can

By: Brad Harper bharper@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 13:36, 16 September 2021

Updated: 13:37, 16 September 2021

A drink driver was spotted swerving across a road in a car with a smashed windscreen and brazenly got out of his vehicle with a can of beer in his hand.

Ilmars Anufrijevs was found to be nearly five times the legal limit after he was followed by a PCSO in Margate.

The drink driver was stopped in Elmley Way, Margate. Picture: Google

The 34-year-old, of Farley Road, Margate, was later charged with failing to provide a specimen, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance.

He admitted all three charges at Folkestone Magistrates' Court on Tuesday and was jailed for 18 weeks. He will be disqualified from driving for seven years following his release.

PCSO Richie Pankhurst was off-duty when he saw Anufrijevs behind the wheel of a Ford Focus in Adisham Way during the evening of August 12.

mpu1

The officer called police and followed him, while providing updates over the phone to call handlers.

Anufrijevs stopped the car in nearby Elmley Way, where he got out with a can of beer in his hand.

PCSO Richie Pankhurst spotted the driver. Picture: Kent Police

Police arrived and arrested Anufrijevs after he blew 161mg in a roadside breath test. The legal limit is 35mg.

After he was taken to a police station, Anufrijevs refused to take part in another breath test.

Inspector Ian Swallow, of Thanet Community Safety Unit, said: "PCSOs are often called our eyes and ears and in this case, that applied even when PCSO Pankhurst was off-duty.

"The evidence he captured after seeing this car being driven erratically left Anufrijevs with no choice but to plead guilty and the result is that this man is now in prison and will be banned from driving for a considerable number of years.

"I cannot overestimate the dangers of driving after drinking alcohol and urge anyone considering doing so to take a taxi or public transport, get a lift or walk."

Read more: All the latest news from Thanet

Read more

More by this author

sticky

© KM Group - 2024