A FLINTSHIRE man who drove dangerously whilst drunk through Wrexham has avoided jail.

Craig Roberts, 39, of Chester Street, Flint, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Wednesday, March 16.

He had previously appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on February 11 faced with charges of dangerous driving, driving a vehicle whilst exceeding the alcohol limit and driving with no insurance and no licence.

Oliver King, prosecuting, told the court how at around 4.15am on August 22 of last year, Roberts made the decision to drive a Wolkswagen Beetle belonging to his ex-partner through Wrexham.

The court heard how he drove dangerously along the St Giles Link Road and Kingsmills Road.

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Police gave chase and he was stopped in a car park before he drove off again 'at speed' towards the town centre.

It was after this, King says, that two pedestrians walking along the pavement were forced to jump out of the way in order to avoid being hit.

The court was also told that a member of the public tried to stop Roberts with their car door but to no avail.

The Leader:

His driving spree came to an end when the car 'spinned around in the air two or three times' before coming to a halt on nearby grass down Kingsmills Road.

Roberts then climbed out of the window of the vehicle and ran off.

A female passenger who was also in the car ran off before returning to pick up her bag and her phone. She was said by witnesses to be 'confused' and had a 'grazed knee'.

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Roberts was apprehended by police not far from the scene soon after. He was taken to the Maelor Hospital for check-ups before being breathalysed which found he had 55 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 milliliters of breath, exceeding the limit of 35.

He told police he had 'had five pints' and was 'very apologetic'.

The court heard how, rather than take a taxi home from the Atik Nightclub that night, Roberts had 'chanced it' and decided to try and drive home. He had seen police officers and 'panicked' before making off at speed.

James Coutts, defending, said he was 'lucky that nobody was injured or worse' during the incident.

He added that Roberts had shown remorse, as well as 'shame' and 'guilt' when shown the CCTV footage of the incidents of that night.

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He said the defendant had 'been able to deal with his alcohol issues and refrained from alcohol' since the incident.

In his closing remarks, Judge Rhys Rowlands said that, on the night in question, Roberts 'took risks born out of a desire to avoid the police.'

Roberts was has handed a sentence of 10 months suspended for two years for dangerous driving and face no separate penalties for the other charges.

He was disqualified from driving for two years, handed a £1,000 fine, must complete 25 days rehabilitation and has to wear an alcohol abstinence tag for 100 days.

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