A COURT has been shown dramatic video footage of a drink driver’s dangerous journey along the A7 north of Carlisle – which ended with him crashing.

It was the eighth time that 43-year-old William Henry Young had been caught driving in defiance of a court ban – expect this time he drove dangerously and while more than three times over the legal alcohol limit.

At Carlisle Crown Court, the defendant admitted disqualified driving, drink driving, uninsured driving, and dangerous driving. He was jailed for two years.

Passing sentence, Judge Michael Hayton QC told Young: “This is the last chapter in a long line of similar offences stretching back 20 years: you can’t get behind the wheel of a car, it would seem, without being drunk.

“And you can’t get yourself in a position where you can legally drive.”

Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting, said the alarm was raised on the morning of June 15 by a concerned postman who had seen Young driving erratically in his Peugeot car on the A7 near to Sandysyke, south of Longtown.

Police soon found Young at the wheel of his car on a side road, just off the A7.

But when an officer signalled for the defendant to pull over, and then got of his car to approach the Peugeot, Young simply flashed his lights and accelerated away, said Mr Rogerson. The defendant was found a short time later in Longtown.

Police spotted his car, pulled up in front of a roadworks traffic light which was on green. When the traffic light changed to red, Young drove off, slowly at first as he headed towards the bridge on the edge of the town.

But at this point, the Peugeot accelerated. Video evidence showed it weaving wildly all over the road, frequently crossing double the white lines. Mr Rogerson said: “The Peugeot reached a speed of 65mph.

“The officers continued to follow the vehicle, which was still weaving and seen to approach a blind bend on the wrong side of the road. The vehicle managed to pull back to the centre of the road before veering left and crashing into a hedge.”

When arrested, Young – his speech noticeably slurred – asked the officers: “I’ll go to jail, won’t I?”

A breath test showed he had 111mcg of alcohol in 100mls of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg. Young already had 55 offences on his criminal record, including convictions for dangerous and drink driving, the court heard.

Jeff Smith, for Young, from Kirkpatrick Fleming, said the defendant had been successfully taking medication which eradicated his urge to drink. But as a member of the traveller community, he had been invited to the funeral of a cousin who died aged 49.

Mr Smith said: “The traveller community’s response to the death was for them to begin drinking heavily - and so he joined in with them; and the rest is history.” The lawyer added: “Alcohol has ruined his life and made the life of those around him virtually impossible. He understands that a custodial sentence must follow.”

As well as jailing the defendant for two years, the judge imposed a 12-year driving ban.