Hereford house smashed by drink driver - but court bans his identity (From Hereford Times)

Hereford house smashed by drink driver - but court bans his identity

9:30am Friday 27th January 2012 in News

The van crashed through iron gates into the side of the house.

A HEREFORD couple left with a £40,000 bill after a drink-driver drove into their home in a military van will never know the identity of the man responsible.

The 29-year-old driver – whose breath test revealed he was twice the legal limit – cannot be named after a district judge ruled his identity should be kept secret.

Martin and Pat Bailey were asleep when the van drove into the garage attached to their home in Wordsworth Road, Whitecross, earlier this month.

The driver, who can only be referred to as Mr G, pleaded guilty to drink-driving at Telford Magistrates Court last Friday and was disqualified from driving for 20 months and fined £520.

He must also pay Mr and Mrs Bailey £400 in compensation, £85 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

It was also mentioned in court that the cost of the damage to the house might be paid by Mr G’s employers.

However, the Baileys believe Mr G has been treated too leniently, especially as they estimate that between £25,000 and £30,000 of structural damage was caused to their home, plus a further £10,000 to items stored in the garage.

They also criticised the judge’s decision to dismiss a Hereford Times request that the man’s name should be made public.

“Instead of taking responsibility for these actions the whole episode is being protected by the cloak of secrecy that the military is so fond of using when a situation needs to be swept under the carpet,” they said.

“The military has, through its lack of concern, shown how little it cares about local feeling and the impact it has on our local community.

“We are cross because we feel that protection due to work undertaken by the driver has meant he has probably been given a lesser sentence.”

Mr G lost control of the white Volkswagens Crafter van as he drove along Westfaling Street at 2.30am on January 6.

He crashed through iron gates and into the side of Mr and Mrs Bailey’s house, severing the gas main and an electrical supply.

Abigail Hall, prosecuting, told the court that Mr G said to police officers that he parked the military van in Hereford city centre and had gone drinking.

A breath test revealed he had 79mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Chris Morgan, defending, said Mr G was a first time offender and an experienced driver.

“He has passed more tests than most people could imagine and has qualifications for driving vehicles such as HGVs,” he said.

“All the work he’s put in to pass these extended tests with the hope of using these skills in life may be irreplaceably damaged by his guilty plea and the ban that must follow.”

District Judge Nigel Cadbury, addressing Mr G, said there was nothing unusual about the case “except who you are”.

“On that point I take into account the important job you carry out,” he said.

“Of course, it is because of who you are that you’ve put a lot of people to a lot of trouble in the past few days.”

Mr and Mrs Bailey said the fact that it will take six months to repair the damage has brought a lot of stress to their lives.

“We are extremely upset as we have been preparing for our retirement later this year which could now be on hold due to the irresponsible actions of this individual,” they added.

“We are experiencing all sorts of family problems as some of our children do not live locally and we are missing our grandchildren’s birthdays as we are unable to leave the property for any length of time.”