Drunk driver from Warwick reversed into police car after being pulled over

Ryan Wood, 28, of Turberville Place had decided to drive home after leaving a night club in the early hours of the morning – despite being warned not to get behind the wheel, a judge at Warwick Crown Court heard.

And Wood, who had also been convicted of driving with excess alcohol in 2010, and in April 2013 had been disqualified for 40 months for driving while unfit through drink or drugs - only getting his licence back in September 2016- was jailed for eight months and banned from driving for five years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen.

Prosecutor Lee Marklew said that on December 30 Wood went out in Leamington, and left a night club in the town in the early hours of the following morning.

Despite being clearly drunk, he made it plain to the door staff that he was planning to drive home to Warwick, so they notified the police.

When officers found Wood sitting in his car nearby they warned him not to drive, and he said he would not.

But at just after 2am Wood drove away, and he was next seen a couple of miles away going over a bridge in Emscote Road at 70mph.

“There was dense fog, and he was on the wrong side of the road overtaking another vehicle, and officers lost track of him because of the weather,” said Mr Marklew.

They caught up with him some distance away, and after getting him to stop, they pulled up behind him.

But as the officers were getting out of the police car, Wood reversed into it, causing the open door to clip one of them to his shoulder, leaving him with bruising and soreness.

“The defendant was arrested, and was obnoxious towards the officers, telling them: ‘F*** off, why the f*** should I go with you?’”

And he later refused to take a breath test or to be interviewed about his driving.

Sean Logan, defending, said: “This was very clearly not only dangerous behaviour, but obnoxious and belligerent behaviour. But he’s not someone who would normally display those character traits. He accepts the aggravating features that he disregarded the warning not to drive and that he did drive at speed in those conditions and recklessly reversed into the police vehicle.”