Drunk driver heading in wrong direction on M25 has been jailed

Jake Port, 35, of Whalebone Lane North, Romford, has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment after being charged with dangerous driving and drink driving.

In the early hours of Wednesday 21 February, Essex Police received multiple 999 calls from the public to alert them to a car travelling in the wrong direction of the M25.

Roads Policing officers were deployed to the area and located a white van driving the wrong way from Brook Street roundabout, heading towards the M11 junction.

Officers stopped the van and arrested the driver for dangerous driving.

When breathalysed at the roadside, the driver was twice the legal drink drive limit.

During interview at Grays Police Station, the driver admitted he was driving in the wrong direction because the road closure on the B track, the side of the road he should have been on, meant he was running out of fuel.

PC Dale Barnes, Roads Policing officer, said: “Having this level of alcohol in your system means you may think you are a competent driver, but your reactions and judgement are impaired.

“We’re very grateful to the motorists who called 999 that night to ensure that other motorists weren’t put further at risk by Port’s actions, and to bring the incident to a stop.

Jake Port was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday 23 July whilst being fined £200 and disqualified from driving for 2 years and 8 months.