Heroic police officer risked his own life to catch drunk driver going the wrong way down the M4

A Swindon man who drove the wrong way down the M4 while more than twice the drink-drive limit has been sentenced for his actions in what was one Wiltshire Police officer's 'most terrifying experience in 16 years'.

Christopher Duggan, 27, of Ford Street, appeared before Swindon Crown Court earlier this week charged with dangerous driving and drink driving. He pleaded guilty to both offences at a previous hearing.

He was given a 10-month suspended prison sentence for a year for dangerous driving and a one-month suspended prison sentence for driving with alcohol - the two sentences to run concurrently. He was banned from driving for 18 months.

Duggan was also ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid community work, fined £600 in prosecution costs and ordered to pay a £140 victim surcharge. He will also face an extended driving retest before getting his licence back. 

PC Jay Clifton, a roads policing officer for the last 16 years, was one of the officers on duty  round 5am, on 3 February, in a marked police vehicle at junction 16 when he saw Duggan's Saab 900 turn onto the M4 and travel east along the hard shoulder of the westbound carriageway. 

The quick-thinking officer then joined the motorway on the eastbound carriageway, and called for assistance, while following Duggan from the opposite side of the road, between junctions 16 and 15, before getting ahead of Duggan and entering the westbound carriageway to try and stop him. 

PC Clifton was then faced with Duggan driving directly at his police vehicle, at speed, before Duggan went around him, leaving the M4 at junction 15 and rejoining it again by contravening a second no-entry sign on the exit slip road - continuing against the flow of traffic. 

"It was one of the most terrifying experiences of my 16 years working in traffic - and one of the worst examples of driving I have ever seen," said PC Clifton. "He drove directly at me and other members of the public with a complete disregard for his own life and that of other road users around him.

"Duggan drove at speed, under the influence of alcohol, and directly in to the path of oncoming traffic. He was extremely lucky that no one was injured and lives were not ruined as a result of his behaviour."

Several police vehicles were also sent to try to intercept Duggan and he was eventually stopped on the hard shoulder before Membury services.  He was charged with dangerous driving and driving with alcohol above the legal limit. A breath test showed 82 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Angus Macpherson, Wiltshire and Swindon’s PCC, said: “No one should be misled by this court result. In most cases like this - drink drive offences coupled with such dangerous driving - result in a prison sentence and rightly so.

“Such an extreme disregard for public safety should be dealt with in the strongest way possible and Wiltshire Police must continue to have zero tolerance when it comes to this type of behaviour.

“The court must have considered there to be very significant mitigation in deciding not to impose the custodial sentence in this case.” 

At the time of the incident, Duty Inspector Rachel Hardy said: “The officers involved in this incident made some fast time decisions to bring the vehicle to a stop and prevent a serious, and potentially fatal, collision from occurring with members of the public. 

“The driver of this vehicle put himself, his passenger, and other road users lives in grave danger. It is extremely fortunate that no one was injured during this incident. "