A DRINK and drug driver who rolled his vehicle upside down and abandoned his passenger has been sentenced.

Joshua Biggs was approaching the A27 near Arundel when he lost control of his vehicle and hit a tree.

The car then rolled down into a ditch following the crash at about 11.30pm on January 28.

While 31-year-old Biggs managed to get free from the wreckage, he made no attempt to help his passenger or get help for him.

Police stopped Biggs half a mile away from the crash as he was seen walking along the carriageway and was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.

He later provided a positive roadside breath test and a positive sample for alcohol in his blood. The blood test also revealed he had cannabis in his system above the legal limit.

Biggs, unemployed, of Cheviot Close in East Preston, admitted driving over the prescribed limit for alcohol and driving over the prescribed limit for a Class B drug at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on August 5.

He was disqualified from driving for three years and ordered to complete 120 days of alcohol abstinence as part of a ten-week suspended prison sentence.

Biggs must also complete ten rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay £85 court costs and a £128 victim surcharge.

PC Ant Baker from the Roads Policing Unit investigated the case and said Biggs’s behaviour shows the selfish mindset of those who drink alcohol or take drugs and then get behind the wheel.

He said: “Drink and drug driving is a serious offence with serious consequences. Biggs decided to get behind the wheel of a car under the influence of drink and drugs, with no regard for other people’s safety.

“He crashed his vehicle just before joining the A27 and managed to get himself out of the wreckage and was then seen by members of the public calling out to his passenger who didn’t reply.

“The passenger was still trapped inside the vehicle, but rather than call for emergency services to help, Biggs decided to flee the scene, leaving his passenger in the crashed vehicle.

“This demonstrates the kind of selfish mindset that it takes to drive a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

“These are the types of people we spend our time trying to remove from the road before incidents like this happen. We are determined to catch offenders and to stop them causing harm to themselves or other road users.

“The sentence handed to Biggs reflects the serious nature of the offence and his actions at the scene and serves as a deterrent to others who may consider committing these offences.

“We are pleased that another dangerous motorist has been taken off our roads.”