Drink-driver jailed for border crash with couple

Marcin Cios crashed near the England Scotland border at Carter Bar

A drink-driver who feel asleep at the wheel and crashed his van into an oncoming car on the England Scotland border has been jailed for six months.

Marcin Cios, 45, was more than two times the drink-drive limit when he veered across the A68 in Northumberland in the early hours of 24 May, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

His van collided with a couple driving home from Edinburgh Airport, causing damage but no injuries.

Cios, from Poland, was also banned from driving for 13 months after he admitted drink and dangerous driving.

The court heard the delivery driver had entered the UK the day before the crash and was transporting goods from Italy to Aberdeen.

'Lucky'

At about 02:00 BST on 24 May, just south of the border at Carter Bar, a man and woman who were heading home from Edinburgh Airport spotted Cios's northbound Luton-style van coming towards them with its headlights on full-beam.

The man driving the car flashed at the van but there was no response, with the van then crossing the road and heading straight towards them, prosecutor Oliver Connor said.

The man swerved on to the grass verge to avoid a head-on collision, but Cios' van clipped the back of their car causing it to spin.

In a statement, the woman in the car said she felt "lucky" her husband reacted quickly or they "may not be here now".

She also said she thought about who else Cios could have crashed into, for example a family.

'Endangered others'

A breath sample taken at the scene found Cios had 75mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, the legal limit being 35mcg, the court heard.

A later reading at a police station found he had 65mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

Representing himself in court and speaking through a Polish interpreter, Cios said he would "like to apologise for the whole situation".

He had told probation officers he had parked up on the night of 23 May for a rest and drank a couple of beers, but then got a call from his employer telling him to make another delivery which added pressure to his schedule.

Recorder Richard Stubbs said Cios chose to drive while drunk and not properly rested, thereby "endangering" himself and other road users.

"If it had not been for the actions of [the other driver] the outcome of your dangerous driving could have been far worse," the judge said.

Cios, a father-of-two who lives in Poland with his mother, said he would return home upon his release and had no plans to come back to the UK in the immediate future.

The judge also said Cios would have to pass an extended test before he could get his licence back.