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Drunk driver crashes into pub

LONDON, England - Problem drinker Leigh Brennan, 45, had already injured two others when he crashed into a Mini before speeding off from the scene in his Volvo estate car only to plough into a nearby pub at 100km/h.

The London Daily Mail reported that he lost control and smashed into the Three Elms in Brixham, south-west England, leaving landlord Kevin O'Neill seriously injured under a pile of rubble.

Devon and Cornwall police have released CCTV footage in a bid to warn motorists of the dangers of drinking and driving in the run up to Christmas.

INTENSIVE CARE

The pub's pool team was standing outside smoking shortly before the car careered into the doorway; they'd left the area moments before the crash. Landlord Kevin O'Neil was left with a crushed pelvis, broken ribs and spinal injuries after rescuers dug him out from underneath the bricks by hand. He spent three days in intensive care and required three operations.

Brennan staggered out of his car and shouted abuse at those who tried to help and at police when they arrived, the Mail said. He refused to give a breath or blood sample but witnesses said he was clearly drunk. That was back in March 2012; now Exeter Crown Court has jailed him for 12 months and banned from driving for two years for dangerous driving.

He pleaded guilty.

O'Neil said: “I was seriously ill. I was in intensive care for three days and had three operations for a broken pelvis, three vertebrae, broken ribs, skin grafts and my heart went out of sync which was down to the shock. The price of a taxi is the price of a pint.”

Inspector Richard Pryce, head of Devon and Cornwall police roads policing, said in a statement: “The devastation caused by drink driving can be seen clearly in the CCTV footage. There was a group of people outside the pub just moments before the crash - it's a miracle nobody was killed and only one person was injured.”

Watch the video here
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