A MOTORIST who caused crash carnage while nearly four times the legal alcohol limit said he “felt fine to drive”.

Lincoln Simmons was in a blue Volkswagen Passat on the A23 in Crawley when he struck a Renault Clio, which was sent through the roundabout at London Road.

A 53-year-old woman from Haywards Heath driving the Clio was left in shock and had bruising.

Her vehicle was left wrecked by the collision.

Simmons failed to stop at the scene, and was found driving near Gatwick Airport a short distance away.

The unemployed 48-year-old failed a roadside breath test and was arrested.

He was charged with failing to stop after a road traffic collision, and driving with 139 micrograms of alcohol per 100millilitres of breath in his system.

The legal limit is 35mcg per 100ml.

In his police interview Simmons, of Galahad Road, Crawley, had downed a litre of vodka the night before, topped off with a “small bottle of whisky” on the day of the crash, which happened at 1pm on December 2 last year.

He admitted failing to stop and drink driving at Crawley Magistrates’ Court.

Simmons was told to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, with £85 costs and a £95 surcharge. He was banned from driving for 32 months.

Roads Policing Unit Chief Inspector Michael Hodder said: “One of the most common excuses we hear from drink-drivers is that they “felt fine” to drive.

“But even a small amount of alcohol has the ability to impair your judgement and reaction time.

“Feeling fine is not a good judgement of your ability to drive.

“If you drink and drive you are committing an offence which carries with it a risk of serious injury or death to yourself or someone else.

“The bottom line is there is no excuse to drive under the influence of drink or drugs.

“Our priority is to keep everyone safe on our roads, and we will continue to crack down on anyone who compromises this.”

Sussex Police said 212 arrests were made during the winter crackdown between December 1 and January 1, and 34 of them have now appeared in court.

Operation Crackdown is an annual operation during the festive period, and also for a month during the summer to raise awareness of the dangers of drink and drug driving.