A judge has commended a cyclist for his bravery after he was hurt as he clung onto a car door to try and stop a drunk driver.

Worcester Crown Court heard that Fabio Veracruz sustained minor injuries after he was showered in broken glass after the motorist, Martin Davis, crashed into a post.

The incident happened on City Walls Road in Worcester at around 2am on 5 September, reports Worcester News.

Davis, a chef who had been furloughed by his employers, was more than three times over the drink-driving limit following a night out with colleagues from the hospitality industry.

The 42 year old, who admitted dangerous driving and drink driving, had no recollection of the crash, which happened after Mr Veracruz had spotted him driving the wrong way down the dual carriageway road amd decided to follow him on his bike.

The cyclist knocked on the car’s window and shouted at the driver to try and make Davis stop, and then opened the door and attempted to apply the handbrake.

Alexander Barbour, prosecuting, said that Davis made “no response” and drove off at a speed that Mr Veracruz, clinging to the vehicle, estimated at 20mph, before crashing into the post.

In mitigation, Julia Powell said that the incident was “completely out of character” and that Davis has now given up drinking.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright said: “Mr Veracruz, thankfully, was not more seriously injured having done the public spirited thing and put himself at considerable risk to apprehend a dangerous driver.”

He told Davis: “You were totally incapable. The fact you say you don’t recall anything of this isn’t mitigation – quite the opposite – it’s aggravation.”

Referring to Mr Veracruz, the judge said: “He actually thought you had passed out behind the wheel of the car. In fact you were extremely drunk and probably gave the same outward impression.”

The judge told Davis that after the cyclist had tried to engage the handbrake, “What you did was to put the car in gear and drive off, travelling in the correct direction but with Mr Veracruz standing on the sill of the car with the door open, supporting himself with one hand on the roof and one on the top of the door.

“You drove in such a way that the door on your side of the car struck a pole, closing it on Mr Veracruz who thankfully has not suffered much more serious injuries as a result of the door shutting and the glass in the window breaking.”

After the crash. Mr Veracruz took the car keys and threw them on the ground, telling Davis to get out of the car to await the arrival of police.

Sentencing Davis to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years – a custodial sentence might have been handed down were it not for the impact of coronavirus on the prison system – the judge said his driving was “plainly dangerous” and that he had “disregarded repeated warnings about your driving from Mr Veracruz.”

He added that had he believed Davis had driven into the pole on purpose to try and dislodge Mr Veracruz, the result of the hearing would have been different.

Davis was also ordered to undertake 180 hours of unpaid work and pay £340 costs and a victim surcharge of £900, as well as £500 in compensation to Mr Veracruz.