Suspected drink-driver arrested after Melton traders' group alerts police
A suspected drink-driver was arrested in Melton Mowbray town centre after being alerted by the local traders’ group.
Hundreds of business owners and workers are in constant contact via SMART radios to alert each other to potential criminal activity and suspicious behaviour by individuals.
And on Monday November 10, a van driver was spotted by a member of the team driving through the pedestrianised area via Sherrard Street at a time when vehicles are prohibited and from a point of ‘no entry’ due to it being one-way through the town.
Alex McHarg, who volunteers his support to help the SMART team, said he saw the Vauxhall van being driven at around 25mph around 1.45pm and noticed the driver drinking from a can.
He saw the vehicle then being driven down High Street towards the Iceland supermarket and watched it stop at the end of the pedestrian area at the junction with Wilton Road.
Alex said: “I called on the radio and asked CCTV to monitor the vehicle in case he drove off.
"I called 999 as I believed the driver to be unfit to be in control of the vehicle due to his manner of driving.”
He said he stayed closed to the vehicle without alerting the driver and then saw him fall asleep.
Gates, at at the end of Nottingham Street, High Street, King Street and Market Place, have been refurbished to enforce the temporary closure of the town centre to traffic - between 10am and 3pm – and Melton Borough Council and Melton Mowbray Town Estate are working on finalising legal documents to enable them to be used.
Alex added: “There was several members of the public walking through the town at the time and they were put at considerable risk through the gates to the town centre being open.”
James Colclough praised the swift actions of Alex and highlighted the incident as another demonstration of how effective the radio-connected initiative is in keeping people in the town centre safe.
He also said it was essential that the entry gates are able to be closed in time for the upcoming busy Christmas shopping period.
James told the Melton Times: “SMART is an initiative operated by Melton BID and has 247 enthusiastic members and 151 retail radios in use, working in partnership with Melton Police and the borough council's Safer Places Team.
“This incident could have been far worse, if not tragic, had SMART not identified the vehicle and called the police to bring things to a safe conclusion.
"I’m very pleased to hear that the authorities are just about to formalise the closing and opening of the pedestrian zone vehicle gates, as this will go a long way to prevent unwanted vehicles in town centre.”
Police officers arrived in a short time to conduct a roadside breath test on the van driver.
A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Police said: “I can confirm we have charged Damian Hydzik, 38, of Main Road, Holbeach Drove, Spalding, Lincolnshire, with drink driving following an incident in High Street, Melton, on Monday November 10.
"He is due to appear before Leicester Magistrates’ Court on November 26.”