LEE Moulton, who fled the scene of an accident in The Brow, in Haydon Wick, in March after causing £10,000 worth of damage before jumping in a taxi, has been fined £205.

Moulton, 24, of Chartwell Road, came off the road on a hairpin bend and slammed his Clio into a lamppost, before leading police tracker dogs on a chase lasting more than an hour.

His car ploughed into the front garden of a 92-year-old woman, who was not at home at the time.

Swindon Council had to bring in engineers to extricate the car from the garden at 1am, using jack-hammers to dig up cables at a cost of thousands of pounds.

Swindon Magistrates Court heard Moulton had panicked and fled the scene, and his punishment was lessened by the fact he had had his licence revoked for two years after being found guilty of drink-driving for a separate offence just three days later.

Nick Barr, prosecuting, said: “On 16 March at about 10pm PC Newman received a report of a vehicle which had crashed into a home and the driver had run off.

“He arrived at the scene at 10.05pm and began the search for the person described as being Lee Moulton.

“They continued the search until 11.21pm and decided they were unlikely to find him.

“The damage is estimated to be over £10,000, as Swindon Council had to contract in specialist engineers to disconnect the electric cables from the lamppost.

“At 4.30pm the next day Moulton contacted police and explained he had panicked and run off.

“He made a full and frank admission, and stated that after crashing he had run off before getting a taxi to his girlfriend's house.”

Anne Elery, defending, said that section of road was notoriously difficult to navigate.

“Mr Moulton pleaded guilty at the first possible opportunity,” she said. “That bend is extremely tight. He did panic which is why he left. He tells me people came out shouting at him which is why he left.

“He is already subject to a disqualification, and had to submit his licence to court on March 19 for another matter, which was drink driving. He has been disqualified for two years.

Moulton was fined £100 for driving without due care and attention, with five points on his licence.

There was no separate penalty for failing to stop at the scene of an accident considering his current ban, and he has been made to pay £85 court costs and a £20 victim surcharge.