A drink-driver who crashed into Nottingham’s Guildhall building has been banned from the roads for 16 months.
Melvin Mugambe, aged 20, was driving a white Volkswagen Polo when he ploughed into the corner of the listed building, at the junction of South Sherwood Street and Burton Street, shortly before 4am on Tuesday 2 December.
Magistrates heard he’d been driving at speed when he lost control of the vehicle, before mounting a kerb and colliding with the property.
Nobody was injured – although significant damage was caused to the car. No structural damage was caused to the building.
Mugambe was checked over by paramedics before response officers arrested him on suspicion of drink-driving. A breath test recorded 59 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms of breath in 100 millilitres of breath.
Mugambe, of Church Street, Old Lenton, Nottingham, appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on 18 December and pleaded guilty to driving while over the limit for alcohol and dangerous driving.
He was handed a 16-month driving ban and ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work within 12 months.
He must also pay £85 in court costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
Mugambe was told the driving ban will be reduced by 16 weeks if he completes a Government-approved rehabilitation course by 26 October 2026.
PC William Young, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“Mugambe’s actions put lives at risk and it could have had devastating consequences for anyone on the pavement as he lost control and crashed into the Guildhall building.
“It is incredibly important to highlight this case as we continue to remind road uses of the dangers of drink-driving in the run-up to Christmas.
“We are working to engage with drivers across the county raising awareness of the fatal four offences – the four most common factors involved in collisions where people are killed or seriously injured. Driving under the influence is one of these.
“Most officers would agree that delivering heartbreaking news to a loved one is one of the hardest part of our role. Don’t make a decision which forces us to knock on your parent’s door. There is always another way to get home safely.”
