A DRINK driver who tailgated another motorist as he drove through South Petherton then revved his car towards him while he was phoning the police and struck him on the leg.

Alec Armstrong repeatedly drove at speed towards the other vehicle before braking suddenly but on the third occasion he bumped into the victim’s car.

The defendant, who worked at a Taunton nursery, continued to drive erratically, reversed onto the pavement and struck a wall before spinning around in the road and hitting a second wall.

The witness went to speak to the defendant and his passenger, who were both slurring their words, but when he tried to phone the police Armstrong shouted at him: “Get out of the f***ing road, I’m going to run you over”.

He then revved his car and drove straight at the victim, colliding with his leg before driving away from the scene.

The 23-year-old defendant, of Roundwell Street, South Petherton, appeared before Somerset Magistrates where he admitted a charge of driving an Audi TT dangerously on St James Street and West Street, South Petherton, on March 1.

He also pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol after a breath test conducted by police revealed he was nearly twice the legal limit.

The court at Yeovil was told that the victim, Mr Howe, was driving his car on Lightgate Road in the village at 1am when he noticed a car which was static at a junction so he drove around it and carried on.

He then noticed the car’s headlights were behind him and saw the Audi was “flying towards him” and then suddenly braked hard right behind him.

Prosecutor Emma Lenanton said: “He turned into Market Square where the Audi approached him again and suddenly braked and he then saw the car start to reverse or roll backwards and the manner of the defendant’s driving alarmed him.

“Mr Howe continued driving onto West Street and saw Armstrong’s car behind him again. It drove fast towards him again but did not brake in time and bumped into the rear of his vehicle however there was no damage.

“The Audi then began to reverse down West Street, mounted the pavement hitting a wall causing it to spin around and then hit another wall before coming to rest.”

The witness got out and Armstrong’s passenger apologised for what happened and both males in the car appeared to be slurring their words. He was concerned they were over the limit so started to phone the police.

The defendant started to drive away but then stopped by Mr Howe’s car and drove back towards him while he was stood in the road and began to rev the engine.

“The victim was standing in front of the Audi and hit his hand on the bonnet and the defendant then shouted ‘get out of the f***ing road, I’m going to run you over,” said Miss Lenanton.

“He reversed 10 feet and then advanced towards Mr Howe and the front grille hit his lower leg but did not result in any injury.

“The Audi drove off and was lost to sight and when police attended the registered keeper’s address a male darted out of the bushes and turned out to be the passenger.

“A short while afterwards Armstrong identified himself to the officers as the driver and he was unsteady on his feet and had a bleeding face.”

He was arrested and taken to Bridgwater police station where a breath test showed a reading of 65mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg of alcohol.

Mr Howe told the police the incident had made him feel scared, especially with how quickly the situation escalated.

He said he had felt “vulnerable” and said the defendant was not in control of the vehicle.

Defending solicitor Ray Peters said that Armstrong had never been in trouble with the criminal justice system before and had now committed serious offences which were totally out of character.

He said his client did not regularly drink alcohol but on this particular evening he spent some time with friends and consumed far too much drink and his recollection of events were vague.

“He has shown genuine remorse and was extremely upset by what happened and these offences have had a massive impact upon him,” he said.

“He wants to express his apologies to all those people who have been affected by his actions that night and is very anxious about what will happen.”

He said that Armstrong worked at a children’s nursery in Taunton and his employers were aware of his court appearance and were still being supportive of him.

“It has had a devastating effect on him and he has not driven since this incident,” he added.

The magistrates banned Armstrong from driving for 17 months and said he would not be allowed to drive after that period until he had passed an extended retest.

For dangerous driving they sentenced him to a 12 month community order with a requirement to carry out 150 hours unpaid work.

They also fined him £253 for the drink driving offence and also imposed an £85 victim surcharge and £85 costs.