Drunk motorist wearing pyjamas drove through Lincoln with wheel missing

CCTV footage has been released of a drunken motorist who drove in his pyjamas through Lincoln city centre with a wheel missing. Dramatic footage shows Philip Dickens weaving down the city's High Street at 3am with sparks flying from his car before coming to the attention of stunned police officers. Debris found later indicated Dickens, 28, had continued his journey for more than a mile after he lost the wheel by colliding with a wall.



Amazingly the IT worker had already driven seven miles from his home in the nearby village of Witham St Hughs before the collision. Lincoln Crown Court heard Dickens was eventually arrested by a shocked police officer after staggering from his car and setting off on foot towards the city's railway station. Andrew Scott, prosecuting, said: "He was unsteady on his feet, his eyes were glazed and his speech was slurred."

"The front offside wheel was missing. There was a wheel on his front passenger seat and it would appear that a member of the public had stopped him and given him back the wheel." Dickens failed a breathalyser test producing a reading of 55 mgs of alcohol per 100 mls of breath, putting him over the legal limit of 35 mgs. Mr Scott added: "He said he could not remember anything. "He came home had his dinner and drank a bottle of wine. He went to bed at 11 pm and the next thing he remembers is being taken by the police to hospital in an ambulance."


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Chris Jeyes, mitigating, said Dickens has since undergone medical tests. Mr Jeyes told the court: "He was still in his pyjamas when he was arrested. It must have been apparent what was happening with the sparks flying from the wheel but he carried on driving." Dickens admitted dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol on 10 March this year. He was banned from driving for 18 months and given a 12 month community order with supervision and 180 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 costs. Recorder Nigel Daly warned him: "You ought to be very, very careful before you go back driving."