Corby driver so out of it after flipping his car on the A43 he fell asleep while police were talking to him

A Corby man who has been convicted of 160 crimes over the past three decades drove along the grass verge of the A43 before spinning his car and flipping it into the central reservation.

A fellow motorist who spotted Colin McMichael’s Vauxhall Zafira driving on the major route between Kettering and Corby said he suspected McMichael had fallen asleep at the wheel because the car was driving on the verge before crossing from lanes one to two.

It then spun out of control and hit the central reservation before flipping onto its roof.

Northampton Crown Court heard on Friday (April 1) that 51-year-old McMichael told police on the scene he had lost the feeling in his leg due to an old injury so had lost control of the car.

Officers said he appeared to be under the influence of drugs, was verbally aggressive and falling asleep while talking to them. He provided false details so they searched his bag and found a knife.

They also discovered he had no insurance or licence. McMichael, formerly of Hastings Walk, Corby, was taken to hospital where officers found he was carrying a bag of cannabis.

Witnesses said he had been acting ‘strangely’ and waving a crutch around following the incident on June 6, 2020.

McMichael was accompanied into court by a solicitor and social worker who had to shush him several times as he spoke over His Honour Judge Rupert Mayo.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, and knife and cannabis possession.

The court was told he had 55 convictions for 160 offences including driving while disqualified and drug possession in 1996, carrying a knife in 1997 and 2003 and an assault for which he is still serving a 36 month community order.

His social worker told the court McMichael is waiting to transfer into supported living and is doing well.

Judge Mayo said: “I am impressed by the wraparound care you are getting from a number of agencies so I am prepared to suspend the sentence.

He was given a ten month suspended prison sentence and a curfew order. He was also disqualified from driving for 14 months and will have to sit an extended re-test before he can drive again .