AN AUDI driver was caught out by a conversation with his insurers in which he admitted crashing into a council traffic light. 

Karvin Dhillon wrapped his 2018-plate Audi S5 around the lamppost near his mum’s house in Swindon Road, Stratton, having driven dangerously from County Road on February 9 last year. He was three times the cocaine driving limit. 

The 33-year-old had been due to stand trial this week on allegations of dangerous driving and driving a vehicle while over the specified drug limit, claiming he wasn’t behind the wheel. 

But he changed those pleas to guilty on Wednesday morning, after damning evidence emerged last month. 

Prosecutor Catherine Flint told Recorder Elisabeth Bussey-Jones that police had last month finally been given recordings of a call between Dhillon and his insurers made on February 27 last year.

“The insurance company calls Mr Dhillon because the local authority have contacted them because [they] want to make a claim on Mr Dhillon’s insurance for damage to the traffic lights,” she said. 

“So, it’s a conversation between the insurance company and Mr Dhillon. In those conversations Mr Dhillon accepts he was driving the vehicle at the time and there were no passengers.” 

William Chipperfield, defending, asked the judge to grant his client bail and adjourn for the preparation of a pre-sentence report. Dhillon was the primary carer for his mother, who had recently had surgery and was recuperating at home. 

Recorder Bussey-Jones said: “In light of the plea and the fact regardless of whether it was brought to the attention of the defence he would have known he had that conversation and having admitted he was the driver he must have known he was the driver, I don’t see why there is not a reason to impose an immediate ban on his driving.” 

Dhillon was bailed to return to the crown court for sentence on May 14. He was given an interim driving disqualification. 

The judge ordered that the Crown Prosecution Service prepare dash cam footage of the pursuit and footage from police officers’ bodyworn cameras to be played at the sentencing hearing.