Dancing driver on way to Stonehenge banned

A dancing driver has been banned from the roads after parking his car on a roundabout and claiming he was on his way to Stonehenge. Arkan Al-Asad was seen by passers-by driving as slowly as 5mph on the A27 in Worthing, West Sussex, before he stopped his car on the Grove Lodge roundabout in the town. When police arrived at 2.15am on 22 June last year, loud music was blaring out from the Renault Megane and Al-Asad was dancing alongside it and waving his arms in the air. The car's engine was still running.



Footage recorded by the officers' bodyworn cameras showed the 41-year-old had slurred speech, glazed eyes and seemed to be struggling to answer their questions. Al-Asad said he had been driving for two hours and was trying to make his way to Stonehenge but was lost. He was arrested because the officers thought he was on drugs but when Al-Asad was taken into custody he refused to let officers take a sample of blood to be analysed so he was charged with that offence instead.

Al-Asad, of Maidstone, Kent, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis and driving without a licence when he appeared at Worthing Magistrates' Court on 5 June. He was banned from driving for 18 months, fined £165 and ordered to pay £620 costs and a £20 victim surcharge. Chief Inspector Phil Nicholas said: "Anyone who watches the footage should be able to see that Al-Asad was in no fit state to drive. It shows the terrifying condition that some people that we pull over in Sussex are in.


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"His driving had been erratic before he stopped and he could have easily caused an accident. The fact that he refused to give us a sample that would have proven one way or another whether he was on drugs also did not save him from a driving ban as the magistrates took a very dim view of his behaviour. Thankfully members of the public saw Al-Asad before he caused an accident and I would urge anyone else who sees someone driving dangerously to call us on 999 as soon as they can so that we can take action."