Peterborough drink driver who left car balanced on bollards lied to police

Tomas Dabrovolskis (24) of Olive Road, Peterborough, crashed on Cook Avenue, Hempsted on March 18 at 8.20am.

Yesterday (Wednesday) he appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court where he pleaded guilty to drink driving - and was banned from the roads for 20 months.

The court heard police were called to the scene, to find the Audi A5 precariously balanced on two metal bollards.

Dabrovolskis was found with the car, with the keys in his pocket - but he told police he had not been the driver.

Despite his claims, police gave him a breath test, and he tested positive.

He later gave a reading of 62mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg of alcohol.

Philip Botterill, prosecuting, told the court: “He said he was not the driver. He said an unknown male had driven the car.

“He said he had been at a party at a house - he could not remember the address - and at some point another male had taken the keys from a table, and said he wanted to get food.

“The defendant said he was scared of the man, and went with him and two friends. He said he was the front seat passenger when the crash happened. He said the driver had ran away.”

Mr Botterill said Dabrovolskis, who works at the Amazon warehouse, said he stuck with his story, despite reports of only three people seen getting out of the car.

He was bailed by police - but he returned to the police station the following day, where he confessed he had been the driver.

He told police he knew he had been drunk, which is why he had lied - but wanted to tell the truth.

Dabrovolskis, who spoke through a Lithuanian interpreter, represented himself in court. He told magistrates he had not driven since the incident, and added: “I am thankful to God no-one was injured in the incident.”

Chair magistrate Richard Berry said: “We have taken your early guilty plea into account. What hasn’t helped you is that you were carrying passengers, you were involved in an accident that was your fault and you misled officers on two occasions.”

Along with the 20 month ban, he was fined £295 and ordered to pay costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £30.