Drunk dad with three children in the car doesn't even notice it's on fire

Adam Whitehead, 36, was almost five times over the drink-drive limit and oblivious to the billows of smoke coming from his green Fiat, a court heard.

Other motorists had to pull his children aged nine, seven and five, to safety – only for Whitehead to drive on leaving them at the side of the road.

He was spared jail by magistrates on Monday despite the incident last June when he drove the children for a mile after having drunk a bottle of vodka the night before.

Prosecutor Carole Lawford told Huddersfield Magistrates Court that one of his children was in the passenger seat with two in the back as he drove to meet a friend.

A passing motorist noticed the black smoke billowing from the car and sounded her horn but Whitehead didn't stop. She had to pull over and alert Whitehead by knocking on his window as he stopped in traffic. But again there was no response so the motorist got the children out of the car.

Miss Lawford said: "There was a large black smoke cloud coming from that vehicle. She sounded her horn to try and get his attention, that didn't work.

"She asked if he knew the car was on fire, he said 'no'. Her and her mother got the children out as smoke was still billowing from underneath the car."

As his children stood on the pavement, a dazed Whitehead moved into the passenger's seat before getting back into the driver's seat and driving a further 60 to 70 yards down the road.

He finally pulled over the vehicle and was breathalysed and arrested by police.

He told officers he had downed at least a bottle of vodka the night before as he stayed up drinking until the early hours to celebrate a job offer after three months out of work.

Whitehead, of Huddersfield, said he remembered putting the youngsters in the car, but couldn't understand why he would have made the journey at 10.30am after a night of drinking by himself.

He told police he thought he had been on his way to visit a friend and although he was vaguely aware of the woman who stopped him, he couldn't remember the children being taken out of the vehicle.

Miss Lawford said he admitted to police: "It was a stupid thing to do."

The out-of-work businessman had 162mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath ' the legal limit is 35mcgs. He pleaded guilty to driving while over the prescribed limit at an earlier court hearing. He was given a 16-week custodial sentence, suspended for two years.

Magistrates described his reading as "an exceptionally high limit" and said the aggravating factors in the case were the fact he did not realise his car was on fire and he had put the lives of his children, as well as other road users and himself, in danger.

Chairman Mary Hirst told Whitehead: "Your driving ability was so impaired that you didn't even realise the clutch had burnt out and the car was on fire."

Whitehead, who is currently on benefits, was banned from driving for three years and told he must complete an alcohol treatment programme. He was also ordered to pay 85 in court costs and told to do 60 hours of unpaid work.

Neil Murphy, mitigating, said Whitehead had been going through a difficult period and was depressed. He had split from his wife, who was in France at the time of his arrest, but they continued to live in the same house due to financial constraints.

Whitehead was also under considerable stress after losing his job three months prior to the incident, but he had finally acknowledged he had a drinking problem following the incident, Mr Murphy told the court.