Zimbabwean man banned from driving in the UK

A Zimbabwean man who had already been disqualified from driving in the United Kingdom for 17 months was arrested after he was caught driving erratically and nearly twice over the legal alcohol limit on the M5 motorway.

Enock Chitsara, 42, from Llanybydder in Carmarthenshire, was arrested in the early hours of Monday after police received a report about a motorist driving dangerously in the Bridgwater area of England.

The incident was reported at around 11.30pm on Sunday by a member of the public who raised concerns about the driver's behaviour.

Using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology, officers located Chitsara's Ford Ranger near junction 22 of the M5 northbound and followed the vehicle towards Gordano Services at junction 19.

Police observed the vehicle repeatedly veering between lanes and braking unpredictably. At one point, it slowed to just 28mph on the motorway.

After the vehicle left the motorway and entered Gordano Services, officers stopped it and arrested Chitsara on suspicion of driving while unfit through drink or drugs.

Police said he appeared drowsy and had a strong smell of alcohol.

A roadside breath test indicated that Chitsara was significantly over the legal drink-drive limit. An evidential breath test conducted at the police station later recorded 60 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, almost twice the legal limit.

Chitsara was subsequently charged with driving over the prescribed alcohol limit and appeared in court on Monday.

He had already been disqualified from driving for 17 months and was also ordered to pay fines totalling £556.

PC Jack Keane said drink and drug driving placed lives at risk and warned that there was no justification for driving while impaired.

"The actions of this driver posed a significant risk to everyone else using the motorway that night," he said.

Keane thanked the member of the public who alerted police, saying the information enabled officers to intervene and remove the driver from the road.

Avon and Somerset Police urged members of the public to report suspected repeat drink- and drug-driving offenders, saying such reports could help prevent serious or fatal collisions.

The force said people could provide information anonymously through its online reporting system, while anyone witnessing suspected impaired driving happening at the time should call 999.