A father was caught four times over the drink-drive limit with two children in the back of his car.
Police were called by a concerned member of the public who witnessed the car swerving from side to side on the A1 near Banbridge on Wednesday.
The incident was that bad even one of the children admitted that their “daddy is drunk and scaring me with his driving”.
“Not what you ever want to hear a child say, yet our crews heard just that on the A1 yesterday,” explained a PSNI spokesperson.
“Thankfully, a determined member of the public not just phoned us to tell us about a van weaving all over the road, but stayed behind it to make sure we got it.
“A male was shortly after arrested for drink driving and no insurance.”
The man, once in custody, blew 144 on the evidential machine – four times the legal limit.
The PSNI spokesperson added: “That wasn’t the end of it though, as we discovered he had an active bench warrant.
“Thankfully we were able to get another family member to take the two kids who were in the van.
“Suffice to say, as well as social services involvement, the male was held overnight and taken to court this morning.
“Hats off to the member of the public for his actions and patience in sticking with the van until we got there.
“Whilst you should never put yourself in danger, doing what he did and staying behind the van and guiding us in is precisely how these arrests happen.
“Drink driving is inexcusable, and the circumstances of this one make it all the more worrying. Thankfully no one hurt or killed this time.”
