Derbyshire man banned from the roads after his friend crashed the car he had let him borrow and he drove to the scene

Craig Beresford had allowed his friend to use his vehicle on March 15 and received a call from the friend saying that the car was in a ditch near South Wingfield, Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court was told on Friday, August 7.

He then drove to the scene in his works van but was met by police who were investigating the collision.

Prosecuting, Katie Hamill said witnesses had seen the vehicle’s occupants, who were not identified in court, then leave the scene of the collision in another vehicle.

“At the scene he told officers that the vehicle was his and he failed a roadside breath test,” she said.

Beresford, 28, of Bakewell Road, Baslow, admitted drink driving when he appeared before the court.

When tested, he blew 44mg of alcohol to 100ml of breath, narrowly over the limit, the court heard.

Mitigating, Steve Brint said: “This isn’t the normal drink-drive. He’d had a couple of pints of beer earlier and had been staying at his mother’s address and he went out there to check that the vehicle was safe, and unfortunately he was slightly over the limit.”

Beresford was banned from driving for 12 months, fines £200 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor