Man banned from driving after drink driving and failing to stop on A11 near Thetford
A 23-year-old man has been disqualified from driving for more than three years after police stopped his car on the A11 following a report he had been drinking and then driven away
A man has been banned from driving after a drink driving and failing to stop incident on the A11 near Thetford in Norfolk.
Harry Palmer, 23, of Langley Upper Green in Saffron Walden, appeared at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Monday 8 December 2025 after being charged two days earlier. He pleaded guilty to drink driving and failing to stop for police.
The case followed an incident on Saturday 6 December when a member of the public contacted police to report concerns that a man they had spoken to at a restaurant appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and had then driven away.
At 7.49am, an officer located the car travelling southbound on the A11 from Thickthorn towards Thetford. Police activated blue lights to stop the vehicle. The driver initially slowed and indicated into a petrol station before driving off, mounting the kerb and grass verge and rejoining the A11.
Officers from the joint Roads and Armed Policing Team were deployed and later stopped the vehicle on the A11 near Elveden by boxing it in to prevent it driving away.
Palmer provided a roadside breath test reading of 121 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35. He was arrested and taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre, where an evidential test recorded 77 micrograms.
At court, Palmer was disqualified from driving for 40 months and ordered to pay £278 in fines and costs.
A police spokesperson said: “This allows us to remove dangerous drivers from Norfolk’s roads quickly and efficiently, making the county safer for everyone.”