A MAN who crashed his car after a four-hour drinking session at a city pub abandoned it in the middle of the road, then went home and drank four more pints.

Steven Smith, of Stockleys Road, Marston, appeared at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday to answer charges of drink-driving, failing to stop after an accident, failing to report an accident and leaving his vehicle in a dangerous position.

Prosecutors dropped the counts of drink driving and reporting the accident and the 41-year-old admitted the other two counts.

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Outlining the case before magistrates, prosecutor Rose Slowe said that the crash happened in the Risinghurst area of Oxford on the night of September 6.

The court heard that Smith had been at the Ampleforth Arms from 6.30pm until 10.30pm and drank four pints of Fosters while there.

Oxford Mail:

He was then seen on CCTV leaving the pub before getting behind the wheel of his Ford Mondeo and driving up Downside Road.

Smith said that he then saw a fox in the road, forcing him to slam into a parked car, resulting in what was described as ‘significant’ damage to both vehicles.

Instead of staying at the scene of the crash Smith fled and later caught a taxi home.

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With the vehicle left in a damaged state in the middle of the road police were alerted and he was soon after traced back to his home where officers went on to find him and arrest him.

When they arrived, officers described Smith as having ‘glazed eyes’ and ‘smelling of intoxicating liquor'.

He failed a 'roadside breath test' at his house, and when he was properly tested at Abingdon Police Station later, the readings showed he had 71mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath over the 35mcg legal limit.

Oxford Mail:

However, he told officers that while he had drunk beer at the pub, he had also downed four pints of Carling after the crash as well as a number of Disaronno drinks.

Prosecutors accepted that this meant his alcohol reading was a combination of ‘pre and post’ drinking before and after the crash and so the charge of drink driving was discontinued.

In mitigation, his defence barrister Francis Howard said that Smith fled the scene of the crash because he ‘panicked’.

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He added that the ex-Thames Water employee was remorseful and sorry for what he had done.

Magistrates ordered that a pre-sentence report be prepared so that all sentencing options could be explored.

The case was adjourned until April 3 and Smith was bailed.