A MAN who narrowly avoided a head-on collision with a police car while driving-drunk has been disqualified and ordered to pay more than £1,000.

Adam Baines was nearly in a head-on smash while returning to his home in Itchingfield after drinking at a pub in Horsham in the early hours of September 4.

Two officers from the Horsham Response Unit had been informed that the 20-year-old engineer was driving home while intoxicated and tried to incept him.

However, the pair were forced to swerve out of the way of Baines' Audi, as it approached at high speed on Bashurt Hill - a narrow country lane with blind bends.

They ended up in a ditch while avoiding a collision which they believed could have caused serious injuries or even been fatal.

Baines did not stop at the scene and continued on his way home, where he was later arrested.

He gave a breath test reading 72 microgrammes per 100ml of breath, more than twice the legal limit.

In a police interview, Baines, of The Wedges, Itchingfield, suggested there was "no other way" for him to get home and "a taxi would be £30".

He admitted drink-driving and dangerous driving when he appeared before Crawley Magistrates' Court on September 20, and was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on October 29.

Baines was disqualified from driving for 18 months, fined £500 and ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £425 in costs and a £95 surcharge.

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