A DRINK driver who fled justice for more than two years has finally been sentenced 200 miles from the scene of his crime.

Selby motorist Gavin Tongue is now off the road for 20 months and facing a bill of more than £1,000.

He was arrested on the B4224 in Fownhope, a small Herefordshire village near the Welsh border on January 27, 2020 when driving at twice the legal alcohol limit.

He initially appeared before Hereford Magistrates Court in February 12, 2020, denied drink driving and was released on bail until his case could be tried.

When he didn’t attend the same court on August 20, 2020, he was convicted in his absence and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He was finally sentenced when police executed the warrant and brought him before York Magistrates Court earlier this week. There he pleaded guilty to failure to attend Hereford Magistrates Court.

The Yorkshire court heard that Tongue, of Abbots Road, Selby, gave a reading of 76 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath when he took a breath test. The legal limit is 35.

Tongue was disqualified from driving for 20 months and ordered to pay £1,133, consisting of a £623 fine for drink driving, a £138 fine for failure to attend court, a £62 statutory surcharge and £310 prosecution costs.