HUNSTANTON: Drink-driver’s bid to take own life
A drink-driver deliberately drove into a church wall to try and commit suicide when his girlfriend split up with him, a court heard.
Jamie Wilson, 20, of Park Road, Hunstanton, was more than two-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive alcohol limit when he took a woman’s car without her consent.
He then got behind the wheel and ploughed into All Saints Church wall in Burnham Market.
Lynn magistrates heard on Friday that the offence was also committed while Wilson was out on prison licence.
He has since been recalled to prison and appeared before the court in custody.
Wilson admitted aggravated vehicle taking on January 4, and driving with excess alcohol and without insurance on the same day.
Prosecuting, Josephine Jones said the owner of the vehicle phoned police when she realised her car had been taken, and Wilson was arrested shortly after the accident.
A breath test revealed 92 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35.
In mitigation, Claire Williamson said on the day in question, Wilson had split up from his girlfriend and he had “ got himself into a bit of a state”.
She said: “He got himself drunk and in his drunken state he couldn’t handle the situation he was in so he decided to go and visit a friend in Burnham Market.
“When he got there he was so distressed that he decided to take the vehicle, and he came up against the church wall because he had decided at that point that he wanted to take his own life.”
She also said Wilson had a very “chequered past” and alcohol had always been a problem for him.
Magistrates sentenced Wilson to eight weeks in a young offender institution for the aggravated vehicle taking, and four weeks for excess alcohol, to run concurrently.
He was also banned from driving for two years.
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Sunday 26 May 2013
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