Ex-solider banned after M65 drink-drive smash

A former Burnley soldier who crashed his car on the motorway after cutting up another vehicle, has been banned from driving for 22 months.

Darren Holland (31) was driving along the M65 near Brierfield with no lights when he cut up a Toyota Estima, Burnley Magistrates’ Court heard.

The defendant, of Coal Clough Lane, then ploughed his Renault Clio into the crash barriers before fleeing the scene of the accident.

Police caught up with Holland nearby and he had suffered a broken jaw in the crash and was missing teeth, the court was told.

He was found to have 193mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood when he was tested by police.

The defendant entered an early guilty plea to driving a vehicle when the alcohol level was above the legal limit, failing to stop after an accident and driving without due care.

Sentencing, magistrates said: “You were involved in an accident. There was evidence of unacceptable standards of driving.