A lost contractor crashed into a car while looking for his Leicestershire hotel. Glenn Redwood had drank three pints of lager and then ate a McDonald’s before he got confused on his way to the hotel.
Redwood, who lives in the Forest of Dean, had been in Leicestershire as part of a contractor’s job in Countesthorpe last December. The 50-year-old had been staying at a Wigston hotel as part of the job and after going Christmas shopping at Fosse Park on Wednesday, December 11, he went on to go drinking at the Nine Bar in Narborough Road followed by a meal at McDonald’s.
Redwood then made his way back to the hotel, but after his phone battery died he became lost. It was in Brabazon Road, Oadby, that he smashed into a parked car. Leicestershire Police arrived at the scene, arrested him and took him to a police station.
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He gave a reading of 52 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes. He was also found to be uninsured on the Nissan Qashqai, which belonged to his wife.
Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard on Friday (January 3) from Redwood’s soliticor that the carpenter may have fallen alseep behind the wheel – a move which led to the crash. Bal Singh said his client had worked an 11-hour day when the collision happened.
He said: “He finished work at 5pm and went to Fosse Park to do some Christmas shopping. He went to the Nine Bar and ate a sandwich and had three pints of lager.
“He went to McDonald’s and his phone died and he was trying to find his way back to Wigston. He felt a bit tired but he can’t say whether he dozed off and that caused the collision.”
Glenn Redwood may have fallen asleep at the wheel, his solicitor suggested
(Image: Google)
Mr Singh said Redwood was a self-employed carpenter working for his own struggling business – a firm which had only made £3,082 in the whole of 2024. He said Redwood, who was on crutches in court, is also receiving Personal Independence Payments for a medical condition.
On the lack of car insurance, Mr Singh said Redwood thought he was also insured on his wife’s car as he had comprehensive cover on his own car. However, he accepted he was not and had failed to properly get himself insured.
Redwood, of Avenue Villas, Lydney in Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and having no insurance. Magistrates decided that due to his struggling business and the effect the driving ban would have on his ability to work, they would treat him as being unemployed when calculating his fine.
Redwood was banned from driving for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay a £120 fine, a £48 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.