Mounted police swoop on drink-driver guzzling cider at wheel outside hospital
By: Mounted police surrounded a drink-driver after he was spotted guzzling cider at the wheel in a hospital car park. Police bodycam footage showed the moment officers approached him on horseback.
Gloucestershire Police said it received a call from a "concerned motorist" who saw a man driving while drinking a can of cider. The force's Mounted Unit were nearby and responded.
When the Roads Policing Unit turned up to do a breath test soon after, results showed the driver was nearly twice the legal limit. The man had been travelling to hospital to seek medical attention, so was not arrested at the time but police said the matter "would be dealt with in due course".
Police footage from the incident, which happened at around 4.15pm on Tuesday, August 23, was released as part of the summer anti-drink and drug driving campaign.
Insp Sarah Blake, who leads the Mounted Unit at Gloucestershire Police, said: "The vehicle was being driven in a very busy area, putting the public at risk.
"Pcs Hastings and Walker utilised their mounted skills and worked as a team to ensure the vehicle was stopped quickly and the driver could not cause any harm to the public.
"Police Horse Kingsholm, being ridden by Pc Walker, is our newest horse to the team and both him and PH Prestbury acted as instructed by their officers helping bring the incident to a swift conclusion."
The campaign aims to educate drivers of the dangers and penalties they could face by getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol or drugs as well as catching those committing offences.
Drivers who combine alcohol and drugs are 23 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than sober drivers. Police are looking to debunk a number of myths as most drivers are not aware of how long drink and drugs can stay in their body for.