Drink-driver who trashed eight cars in Northampton and caused £20,000 in damage not ordered to pay compensation

Callum Rose, from Abington, was three times over the limit as he toured Kingsley in his work van, scraping parked cars and eventually crashing head-on into a reversing member of the public, hospitalising them.

But he has not been ordered to pay compensation after trashing eight people's cars and writing off the £9,000 company van in August last year.Northampton Crown Court heard how sparks flew from the van as Rose rounded corners. At one point, he was driving with only three wheels and “gouging tarmac” from the road.His Honour Judge Michael Fowler said: "The van actually couldn't be driven any further because you knocked the front wheel off it. Yet you continued to drive it.... it shows how dangerous and determined you were.

"The general picture is awful. A Ford Transit pick up careering down the back streets of Northampton at 4.30pm in the afternoon, just rambling off one vehicle into another."

A witness even saw Rose and his passenger laughing together as they careened down East Park Parade.

At one point, he crashed head-on into a member of the public's car which was pulling out of a parking bay in a residential street, causing severe whiplash for the victim.

Yet Rose then scraped past the victim's car and carried on the reckless tour.

The total bill for the rampage came to over £22,000 in damages. After his arrest, he claimed he could not remember why he had gone out in the van, or causing any damage.

Judge Fowler said: "I know those streets. They are very narrow. You can't get two cars down them... and these weren't just glancing blows.

"It is a day in your life when you did something that cannot be ignored and will have a dramatic effect on your life."

Rose was sentenced to 10 months in prison. He has also been disqualified from driving for two years.