Lorry driver fell asleep and crashed into A1M central reservation after sipping whisky and coke at wheel

Police in Cambridgeshire released this dash cam footage of the lorry swerving across the A1M.

A lorry driver who sipped whisky and coke at the wheel before falling asleep as he drove up the A1M near Peterborough has lost his licence.

Police have released shocking footage of the incident showing the lorry swerving into the central reservation at about 10.30am on Tuesday morning (11 May).

Neighbourhood policing officers who were in the area located the Scania which had pulled over in a layby opposite the junction with Water Newton.

The driver, 40-year-old Lauri Martel, was breathalysed at the roadside and arrested after being almost twice the legal drink drive limit – 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

Inside the driver’s cab was a coffee mug containing whiskey and coke, as well as an empty whiskey and wine bottle which had been discarded from the driver’s window.

In interview, Martel, of no fixed address, admitted having fallen asleep at the wheel which resulted in him swerving and had drank about two whiskeys that morning, totalling about six units.

He was charged with drink driving which he admitted at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Wednesday).

He has been disqualified from driving for a year and four months, as well as being made to pay £755 in fines and costs.

Sergeant Sam Tucker, from Peterborough’s southern Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Martel admitted having been drinking whiskey on the morning he was arrested, but felt he was fit to drive. Alcohol and tiredness can be a lethal combination on the roads, and for someone who drives professionally there is absolutely no excuse for it.

“Thank you to those members of the public who called us to report concerns about the manner of driving, this information enabled us to stop Martel before any potentially serious collision occurred.”