People’s Lottery winner shopped for drink driving by his personal £50k Mercedes automobile
A lottery millionaire was nabbed for drink-driving in his swanky new Mercedes which he bought after hitting the jackpot.
Kevin Jones, a 58-year-old father-of-three, splashed out on the plush £51,000 Merc from his £1.2m windfall, then downed cider before taking it for a spin in the countryside.
However, the car’s automatic telematics system raised the alarm when Jones lost control and crashed into a stream. The emergency call system swiftly notified rescue services, providing them with the vehicle’s exact GPS position.
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The system alerted the police to the scene where they found the car submerged in water, with Jones appearing “unsteady on his feet” before being breathalysed. The court has since slapped him with a fine and a driving ban.
(Image: People’s Postcode lottery)
Jones bagged a whopping £1,210,914 on the People’s Postcode Lottery in January, making him Britain’s biggest winner in the competition, reports the Mirror.
He was the only player in the full-winning postcode in Llandrindod Wells, Powys. Each ticket was worth £403,638 but he had the good fortune of buying three.
The former motor engineer is now “retired and lives on his investments”, the local magistrates court was informed.
Prosecutor James Sprunks revealed that the Mercedes C220 alerted police after Jones crashed through a bridge and landed in a stream at about 6pm on May 15.
(Image: People’s Postcode lottery)
Jones had necked four or five cans of cider before he “thought he was fine to drive” his daughter home from a family visit.
Mr Sprunks said: “An officer who was first on the scene spoke to the defendant who was the owner of the Mercedes…The defendant was unsteady on his feet and was slurring his words, the officer formed the opinion he was under the influence. A breath test was positive and he was arrested.”
Mr Sprunks revealed that Jones had a rap sheet with 12 previous convictions for 20 offences, including a slew of road traffic offences, with the last one dating back to 1995.
Jones blew a reading of 55 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath over the legal limit of 35 micrograms. Huw Williams, defending, said his client had been driving his daughter back to Newtown from Llandrindod when he crashed.
“He told officers he had drunk about 4-5 cans of dark fruits cider earlier that day, between 11am-12pm,” Mr Williams stated. “He rarely drinks but had a few that morning. He honestly didn’t think he’d be over the limit.”
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Mr Williams added that Jones was still getting the hang of a new set of tyres on his swanky Mercedes, which is kitted out with cutting-edge GPS and wireless comms that automatically ping the cops if there’s a problem.
Mr Williams stated: “He came round a corner and the back end slid towards the bridge. He couldn’t correct it and crashed through barriers and into the brook. He suffered a slight concussion.”
Mr Williams mentioned that Jones cooperated with police and expressed his remorse.
“He is ashamed and embarrassed,” Mr Williams added. He also mentioned that Jones had attempted to make amends with what he believed was the owner of the railings, a farmer.
The court banned Jones from driving for 14 months. He was fined £440 and ordered to pay a £176 surcharge and £85 costs.
As he left the dock, Jones said: “I’d just like to say thank you and I’m genuinely very sorry.”
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