WATCH: Terrifying moment drink driver nearly mows man down in Derbyshire pub car park

This is the terrifying moment a drink driver nearly mowed down a man in a Derbyshire pub car park, before smashing into parked cars.
Danny Jackson.Danny Jackson.
Danny Jackson.

Danny Jackson had drunk 'five or six' glasses of wine before trying to leave the pub in his convertible Bentley.

People in the car park were trying to get the keys off him to stop him driving and CCTV played at Derby Crown Court shows Jackson surge forwards and backwards in the high-value car as he attempts to drive off.

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At one stage, Jackson's car jolts forward, forcing a man to leap out of the way as it ploughs into parked cars which then knock a wall down.

Danny Jackson.Danny Jackson.
Danny Jackson.

Jackson, 69, has now been jailed and banned from the roads.

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Danny Jackson.Danny Jackson.
Danny Jackson.

Sarah Slater, prosecuting, told the court the offence took place in the car park of the White Lion, in Sawley, at 7.20pm on June 24.

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She said: “The defendant had been in the pub drinking. He went outside and got in his Bentley vehicle and was surrounded by people trying to stop him from driving it.”

Miss Slater then played the footage of the incident to the court.

It shows Jackson, of Wilne Road, Draycott, stood next to his vehicle talking to a man for four minutes before getting into the convertible Bentley.

Danny Jackson had drunk 'five or six glasses of wine' before getting behind the wheel of his convertible Bentley (Image: Derbyshire police/CPS)

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As people begin to try to stop him from driving, he jolts forwards then backwards then forwards again and, it is during that final movement, that a man has to jump out of the way before Jackson collides with the two parked cars which knock down the wall.

Miss Slater said: “The police spoke to a number of people, including the man who had to jump out of the way, but many of them did not wish to make statements.

“One of them said they were trying to get the keys from him [Jackson] to stop him from driving.”

Miss Slater said police went to Jackson’s home where, almost three hours after the incident, he blew a reading that was twice the legal limit.

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In court, Jackson pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol.

In his interview, he “accepted what had happened but said he panicked when people surrounded the car”, thinking someone was going to steal the vehicle.

Miss Slater said Jackson had since paid for the damage caused to the wall and the cars he crashed into.

The court was told how Jackson admitted he had drunk “five or six small glasses of wine” in the pub.

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Judge Peter Cooke asked defence barrister Jonathan Hullis: “Does he still maintain that he thought he was going to be car-jacked? It’s a very unlikely car-jacking.”

Mr Hullis replied: “He maintains he got in the car to put the roof back up and that people were trying to get the keys off him.”

Judge Cooke said: “How can someone confuse ‘come on mate, don’t be stupid, don’t drive the car’ with someone trying to steal it?”

Mr Hullis said: “He deeply, deeply regrets the situation he put himself in. He says he got the atmosphere wrong and he accepts he is lucky that no-one was hurt.”

Judge Cooke jailed Jackson for 15 months and disqualified him from driving for 27 months.

Video courtesy of the CPS.

A version of this story first appeared in the Derby Telegraph.