A DRIVER dragged a broken lamppost along Gillygate under his car in a “very unusual” case, York Crown Court heard.

Police officers heard a loud bang before they saw Liam Leslie Mulgrew’s VW Golf coming towards them at 10.15pm on May 4, said James Howard, prosecuting.

“They saw sparks flying from it and it was dragging part of a lamppost under it,” he said.

Recorder Dafydd Enoch QC told Mulgrew: “To drive on a road with a lamppost under your car would have caused incredible danger to road users and pedestrians.”

Mr Howard said the lamppost eventually separated from the car and lay in the middle of the road while the Golf mounted the kerb.

Mulgrew fought police as they tried to arrest him and had to have restraints put on his legs and hands. He had a rock of cocaine in his pocket.

“He was obviously drunk or on drugs,” said the judge.

“Gillygate is a dreadful street to lose control on.

"The pavements are very narrow and everyone would normally be coming out of bars and restaurants at that time.”

Pub barman Mulgrew, 27, of Lady Mill Garth, Crombie Avenue, Clifton, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, failure to provide a blood sample which would have enabled police to discover whether he had taken drugs or drunk before driving, obstructing police and possessing cocaine.

His barrister Sean Smith said Mulgrew had just been to his grandmother’s funeral where relatives had spoken to him about “family matters”.

He was ashamed of his actions in Gillygate.

The judge said: “It was a highly unusual coming together of dreadful moments in someone’s life on one particular day.

"It makes this a very unusual case”.

He said Mulgrew, who had no previous convictions for driving offences, had behaved completely out of character.

He gave him an 18-month community order with 120 hours’ unpaid work and 20 days’ rehabilitative activities. He also banned Mulgrew for 18 months and ordered him to take an extended driving test before driving unsupervised in future.