THE noise of a drunk driver crashing into a parked car led to him being arrested minutes later - after he crashed again.

Mariusz Domin, 30, of Ipswich Street, was driving at more than twice the legal alcohol limit when he was stopped in the early hours of May 1.

He appeared in the dock at Swindon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to driving with a level of 88 micrograms of alcohol in his breath and failing to stop after an accident.

Prosecutor James Burnham said there was a crash between Domin’s Audi A3 and a parked Mercedes in Regents Circus shortly after 2am.

The sound of the collision drew the attention of police who saw the Audi speed away. Seconds later it collided with a London cab.

Police followed the car down Princes Street and reached Aylesbury Street before the car stopped at traffic lights. The officers then put their blue lights on.

The Audi then mounted the pavement to try to get round a stationary vehicle but was blocked by a police car.

Anna Fitchett, defending, said Domin, who had no previous convictions had told her he was not trying to evade police. The first time he had seen them was when they put on their flashing lights behind him.

“He saw the police and what he was trying to do was pull to the side of the road, not drive away,” she said.

The offence was very out of character for Domin and he accepted that it was a very silly thing to do. He was also going to lose his job with Honda.

“He is extremely remorseful. He fully accepts that he is culpable in this instance,” she said.

District Judge Simon Cooper said character references from Domin’s friends and wife showed him as caring and responsible. But he pointed out he was carrying two passengers at the time of the incident.

Handing down a 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work, he also disqualified him from driving for 22 months and ordered him to pay £85 costs with an £85 victim surcharge.