'Brazen' drink driver banned

A brazen drink driver who pulled up next to police on a garage forecourt with an open bottle of wine in his car has been banned from the roads.

Cameron Mayes, 23, was driving a white Ford Fiesta in Ely on Thursday, 9 January, when he visited the Ely BP filling station at about 10.30pm.

He pulled up alongside the police car to fill up his car, but officers thought they could smell cannabis and became suspicious.

They began speaking to Mayes and noticed there was an open bottle of wine in full view in the front of the car. 

Mayes, of Headleys Lane, Witcham, Ely, admitted he’d been drinking and agreed to carry out a roadside breath test, which he failed.

An evidential breath test at a police station gave a reading of 49 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath – over the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.

Checks revealed Mayes had also previously lost his licence, having been banned for one year and three months in January 2022.

Mayes pleaded guilty to drink driving at the first opportunity and at Cambridge Magistrates’ Court yesterday (30 January) he was fined £200 and disqualified from driving for three years.

PC James Lewis, who investigated, said: “Mayes was brazen and it’s shocking to believe he chose to pull up alongside uniformed officers in a police car, with an open bottle of wine in the front of his car. In doing so, he paid a lot more for the fuel than he realised.

“He was arrested as soon as we suspected things were not quite right.

“If he was not stopped when he was, the consequences could have been much worse. Thankfully, magistrates have now banned him from the county’s roads for three years.

“Drink driving will not be tolerated and truly risks lives; there’s a reason it is one of the fatal five causes of collisions on our roads.

“I’d also like to remind people they can help us make our roads safer by reporting others they suspect of driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.

“We have a dedicated hotline and all calls are taken in confidence. You don’t have to be sure, but one call could save a life.”

The hotline - 0800 032 0845 - is available 24/7. If someone is in immediate danger, always call 999.

For more information about drink or drug driving, the law and the dangers it can cause, visit the force's dedicated web page.