Nigel Crisp, 59, was later found lying beside the road half a mile away from the crash at the Barnard Road junction in Costessey.

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Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told police had launched a search for the van’s registered owner before reports of someone lying in an intoxicated state in Rawley Road in the Clover Hill area.

Crisp, of Toftes Place in Norwich, pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle when above the alcohol legal limit

Andrew Spence, mitigating, said he had continued to drink after the crash on November 8 last year and was dealing with personal issues at the time.

“He accepts and concedes that while driving he was over the limit but not as intoxicated as when he was arrested,” he added.

Magistrates banned him from driving for 20 months and imposed fines and costs totalling £208, adding: “Hopefully this is a turning point in your life and you get the help you need.”

© Eastern Daily Press