Sexual Predator Raped Girlfriend's 14 Year-Old Daughter And Date

A rapist has been convicted of sex attacks on a 14 year-old girl - who thought he was taking her to buy a school uniform - and a woman he was meeting for a date.

Colin Anthony Blake, 52, (pictured) of Ascot Road, Watford, Hertfordshire was found guilty by a Snaresbrook Crown Court jury and will be sentenced on June 21.

He was convicted during his first trial of raping and sexually assaulting the teenager at an address in Hackney, east London in September, 2010.

Two days ago he was found guilty of two counts of raping his 26 year-old date at an address in Woodford Green on March 10, last year.

In 2010, Blake was in a relationship with the mother of his 14-year-old victim.

Blake called the girl and arranged to meet with her on the pretence of buying her new school uniform.

Instead, Blake drove the girl to an address in Hackney before raping her and driving her back to a relative's address, telling the victim not to tell anyone about the incident.

Later that same month, Blake was staying at the victim's address with her mother.

During the night of 19 September, the victim awoke in her bed to find Blake in her room touching her.

In March 2012 Blake had started a relationship with a 26-year-old woman.

Blake called the woman and said he was going to take her for a night out.

On arriving at the victim's address, Blake asked if he could come in while the victim got ready.

He began to demand sex, which the victim declined.

However, Blake forced the victim into the bedroom before raping her twice during the course of the night.

Detective Constable Dal Riyat from the Metropolitan Police Service's Sapphire Command said: "Colin Blake is a dangerous and predatory rapist, who gained the confidence of his victims before attacking them.

"He has shown no remorse for the pain and suffering he has inflicted on these women.

“I hope the fact that he has been found guilty will go some way to gaining closure for his victims."

Telesales Scammers Jailed For £87K British Gas Swindle

Two telesales scammers who duped hundreds of customers into buying their bogus boiler insurance policies - even warning them they were in danger of death from hypothermia without them -  were both jailed yesterday for their £87,000 swindle.

Masquerading as British Gas Services Ltd. they sold worthless boiler and central heating cover to at least 500 victims - mainly housewives - all over the country.

Company director John Annett, 29, (pic.top) of The Ridgeway, Croydon received 18 months imprisonment and magazine publisher Jay Firmager, 31, (pic.bottom) of Whytecliffe Road South, Purely received 15 months.

Annett pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to conspiring between April 1 and June 30, 2011 to make a gain by making false representations and Firmager was convicted of twelve counts of defrauding individuals by making false representations.

"You both involved yourselves in a serious and blatant fraud on the public," Judge Jeremy Gold QC told the pair on Friday. "You set up a fraudulent telesales company that purported to sell insurance cover.

"Your company was completely bogus from the outset and you, Annett, set this up out of pure greed for money.

"You were the prime mover behind this and it is not your first time before the court's for dishonesty.

"You, Firmager, played an essential part in this enterprise in the full knowledge of what was going on."

The pair had run a residential letting agency called 'Capital Estates' from their office in Purley Road and when it folded set up the 'Feature Me Ltd.' telesales company.

Innocent staff believed they were selling genuine British Gas insurance policies and had a high-pressure sales script they relied on when cold-calling potential customers.

The company wooed customers with a tissue of lies, which included having 7,000 highly-trained gas engineers and 1,000 plumbers on their books and promising unlimited annual emergency call outs.

For a £200 yearly fee the basic package would provide all parts and labour and reluctant customers were intimidated with tales of boilers breaking-down at an annual rate of one every six seconds and 130 people a year dying from hypothermia in the home.

However, the jury were told the defendants knew they were "selling a pup" and police raided their office after British Gas received a flurry of complaints.

"Annett was described as the money man and Firmager the front man, dealing with telesales staff and the office," explained prosecutor Mr. Adam Wiseman. 

"They provided the telephone leads for their staff and provided the script and the company sold bogus products that had British Gas in the name and there were an average of ten complaints a day."

The police raids occurred on July 7, 2011 and Firmager - known locally as 'Big Jay' - had £10,000 cash at his home and £17,000 was in his bank account, which police say came from the scam.

Firmager was ordered to pay half of the £1,994 he defrauded from the twelve identified victims he scammed and Annett is subject to Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings to recoup all the money the victims lost.

He was also disqualified from being a company director for the next ten years.

Late-Night Sexual Predator Told Victim: "Shut up. You're Being Raped."

A sexual predator attacked two lone women within 10-15 minutes during terrifying late-night copycat attacks - telling the second frightened victim: "Shut up. You're being raped."

Angolan-born Roberto Gouveia, 33, pounced in the early hours of a Sunday morning as the women, aged 30 and 18, walked home after an evening out drinking with friends.

Both were separately dragged into alleyways and the first victim was threatened with being stabbed to death if she did not comply and the second was grabbed around the throat before she bravely fought her assailant off.

Jobless Gouveia, of Northumberland Park House hostel, Northumberland Park, Tottenham pleaded guilty to the rape and assault by digital penetration of the 30 year-old in Camden Road, Holloway on September 11, 2011.

He also pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the 18 year-old in nearby Brecknock Road and was remanded in custody until July 19 for psychiatric and probation reports.

Prosecutor Mr. Mark Eldridge told Blackfriars Crown Court on yesterday that it was just after 3am when Gouveia approached the first victim as she walked home alone after getting off a night bus.

"The defendant caught up with her and was close enough to ask her where she was going and what she was doing.

"By an alleyway the defendant put his hand over her mouth to stop her screaming and with his other hand pulled her by the shoulder into the alleyway. He said he had a knife and would use it."

Gouveia told the terrified woman: "You don't want to die. You'd rather me do this than kill you."

She almost broke free, but was forced onto the ground and raped.

Gouveia walked off and a few streets away pounced on the lone teenager, who was returning home after a party.

"She saw the defendant walking towards her and he smacked her on the bottom so hard it stung," explained Mr. Eldridge.

"He put an arm over her shoulder and seemed to pretend to others in the street that they were together.

"In a bear hug he forced her into an alleyway, putting all his weight against her and forcing her against railings."

The victim protested, shouting: "Help me,help me."

Mr. Eldridge added: "The defendant put his hand down her leggings and touched her vagina and when she resisted he said: 'Shut up. You're being raped."

The young woman continued struggling and Gouveia became more violent.

"He grasped her neck with both hands, causing scratches. This was to keep her quiet.

"She struggled and he punched her twice in the face and rather feisty she punched him back several times and saw blood trickle from his nostrils and he backed away into the road."

Gouveia fled the country and was identified when semen recovered from the first victim's dress matched a sample he gave when arrested and convicted of a public order offence.

When arrested at Heathrow Airport after stepping off a flight from Angola on February 14, this year he told police: "This is all a misunderstanding anyhow."

Thief Who Looted Charity-Bound Estate From Dead Man Facing Prison

A Bovingdon man, who looted the estate of a donor who bequeathed money to a children's charity, was warned to expect a prison sentence when he eventually admitted the offence today.

Christopher MacKnight, 52, (pictured) of Howard Agne Close only finally pleaded guilty to the crime on the day his trial was expected to start at Harrow Crown Court.

"I am granting you bail, but I am making no promises," Judge Graham Arran told MacKnight, adjourning the case until June 12 for probation reports.

"People who steal these sort of sums of money over a considerable period of time can usually expect to receive a custodial sentence."

MacKnight pleaded guilty to stealing £136,000 from the estate of Derek Roberts between September 7, 2003 and December 3, 2006.

The deceased victim had left money to the National Children's Home.

The prosecution will pursue Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings to identify and confiscate MacKnight's assets so Mr. Roberts' estate can be reimbursed.

After the hearing MacKnight chatted with his barrister for an hour and shielded his face as he left court. 

Cops Catch Cannabis-Buyer

An Oxford man, caught by police buying £1,800 worth of cannabis, which he claimed was only meant for friends at an upcoming party, has avoided prison with a suspended sentence.

Trinidad-born father-of-three Jumoke Brewster, 35, of Bayswater Road was spotted collecting a Tesco carrier bag in suburban south London, which contained 879 gms of cannabis and further smaller amounts were found during a search of his home.

Fishmonger Brewster, who has been travelling back and forth to the UK on various work and student visas for the last fifteen years, pleaded guilty to possessing the larger quantity, with intent to supply, in Ambleside Avenue, Streatham on January 30.

He also pleaded guilty to possessing six smaller amounts in individual £10 bags a his home address the next day, where police also found two cannabis grinders.

Croydon Crown Court (pictured) heard officers spotted the suspicious transaction in Anerley and stopped Brewster's vehicle a few miles away.

He claimed he was a heavy-user, who bought in bulk with the assistance of friends and would split the cannabis with them.

Judge Shani Barnes told the first-time offender: “Sadly for you I am always suspicious of those supplying drugs.

“They always tell me they are only doing this for friends and not for profit, but I am always cynical.

“This was an extremely large amount of drugs to use at a party, nearly a kilo.

“I am not stupid. You were going to sell it and make money out of it.

“It very much deserves a custodial sentence, but given your good character I will suspend it.”

Brewster was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for twelve months and was ordered to complete 100 hours community service. He must also pay £100 costs.

Ex-Fiance Of Prince Charles' Godson Attacked Police At Notting Hill Carnival

Pregnant Badley outside Hammersmith Magistrates Court

The former fiancé of Prince Charles' aristocratic godson, the Hon Nicholas Knatchbull, punched, kicked and spat at three police officers when dragged off a stage during the Notting Hill Carnival - a month after the couple's wedding plans were scrapped.

Mum-of-two Zeaphena Badley, 30, who was looking forward to becoming Lady Brabourne as the wife of Eton-educated Knatchbull - heir to a £100m fortune - is now "couch-surfing" and staying at a pal's flat after being evicted from her £600,000 Bayswater apartment last week.

She was engaged for eighteen months to Knatchbull, who has the courtesy title Lord Romsey, and is the son of Lord Brabourne, a childhood friend of Prince Charles, but now relies on soup kitchens and the charity of nuns.

He was raised in the sixty-room Broadlands stately home, Hampshire, but struggled with drug addiction, including heroin and crack cocaine use, since his schooldays and began a relationship with Badley when they started sharing a room in a West London house.

Badley, of Ladbroke Grove, North Kensington turned up late for her trial at Hammersmith Magistrates' Court, where she was convicted of assaulting WPC's Stephanie Grayson and Maggie Saliwell and PC John Taylor in Portobello Road, North Kensington on August 27, last year.

Seven-months pregnant Badley, who has two children aged 13 and 14 , complained after eventually arriving: "I have never hit a police officer in my life. They beat the shit out of me, they beat the crap out of me. They aren't allowed to do that."

After learning she had been found guilty an emotional Badley shouted: "Fucking arsehole," at the district judge who convicted her. "I'm seven months pregnant. There is no justice in this country, you don't care if I am innocent."

She was bailed for probation reports and when she returned for sentencing prosecutor Mr. Paul Mitchell told the court: "Officers were on duty at ten to six in the early evening when the organisers of a sound stage informed them the defendant was causing problems.

"She was making hand gestures to the crowd and was asked to leave several times, but continued pointing her middle fingers towards the crowd."

The officers began ushering Badley from the stage, but Badley resisted: "The defendant was shouting: 'What the fuck are you doing?' and turned to officer Grayson and with her left wrist punched her to the right side of her cheek.

"She was handcuffed and restrained on the ground, but continued to try and break free and spat at officer Saliwell's face and then kicked her in the shins.

"She was taken to the ground again and was shouting: 'Only Jah can judge me now. There is no Queen, she's not real, so there are no laws'."

Badley also called officer Saliwell an "ugly bitch."

"She was taken from there to a sterile area in Lancaster Place and was abusive and kept shouting loudly and made an attempt to bite officer Taylor and attempted to kick him in the legs," explained Mr. Mitchell.

"Leg restraints were then put on and officer Taylor was spat at twice, with spit landing on his Met vest and his arm and when she was taken to the custody area at West End Central she spat in the face of officer Grayson.

"Her behaviour was described as erratic and she seemed to become aggressive for no reason and the officers believed she was under the influence of drugs.

"Officer Grayson describes her as 'vile and disgusting' and says the right side of her face is tender.

"Officer Saliwell says: 'She was a vile, disgusting individual intent on attacking as many police officers as possible and showed no remorse."

Drug-addict and chain-smoker Badley was convicted of assaulting two police officers last year, but claimed: "That was spiting, that wasn't assault. I was at a funeral and it was my birthday, I was extremely emotional."

The courts and probation service have tried to help her with her addiction and last year she received a nine-month drug rehabilitation requirement.

She has already spent thirty-five days remanded in custody to HMP Holloway for the Notting Hill Carnival offence.

Her lawyer Miss Emek Yagmur told the court: "Miss Badley still denies these offences were committed by her. She says she was on the stage as part of the performance for one of the bands and her gestures were all part of the act.

"She says she did not swear at the crowd and one of the police officers dragged her off the stage, causing nail marks and bruising to her arm as she was dragged through the crowd.

"She says more police got involved and because of the way she was grabbed by officer Grayson she begged her to let her go and when she failed to do that used reasonable self-defence.

"She hit out while in pain and it was not intended to hit the officer in the face.

"Extreme force was used to restrain her to the floor, she says. A lot of police against one female and they would not listen to her.

"An appeal against these convictions will be lodged with the crown court.

"She is currently seven months pregnant and has ben through a colourful background and has a previous history of offending."

Bronzefield Prison diagnosed Badley as having a personality disorder, but she rejects this conclusion.

Her teenage children do not live with her and she was evicted from her flat after losing housing benefit while in custody, and told the court: "I go to a soup kitchen and I am helped by nuns."

"A suspended prison sentence would give her even more anxiety," suggested Miss Yagmur. "Also being seven months pregnant she is not going to be able to do any unpaid work.

"She has no income at all, she has lost her housing benefit and is living with different friends, couch-surfing, she tells me.

"She has been promised a house in Bayswater by the council and to be put back on benefits, but currently she has no income or savings.

"She can way afford the costs or compensation asked for by the crown."

Bench chairman Andy Robinson told Badley: "It is quite clear in this case that there is no mitigation. You have shown no remorse.

"You have got nothing going in your favour and three officers were involved in full public view at the carnival.

"Your previous record is horrendous and shows a pattern of behaviour that is unacceptable."

Badley was sentenced to twenty-six weeks imprisonment, suspended for twelve months and placed on probation for twelve months with twenty compulsory 'structured supervision for women' sessions.

"You need to engage with probation and turn up for appointments and engage with the activities they have for you so that you do not see the inside of a prison."

Benefits Cheat Escapes Jail With Suspended Sentence

A benefits cheat, who continued claiming taxpayers money by lying about her own wealth, has dodged jail with a suspended sentence.

Rita Hewlett, 55, (pictured) of Partridge Knoll, Purely, Croydon claimed income support and housing and council tax benefit for many years.

At Inner London Crown Court she was sentenced to sixteen months imprisonment, suspended for two years, placed on probation for twelve months and ordered to complete sixteen structured supervision for woman sessions.

She was charged with two counts of dishonestly making false statements on or about June 25, 2001 and January 22, 2005 in relation to income support applications, namely that she failed to declare she had excess capital.

Hewlett also faced seven similar charges of dishonestly making false statements on or about April 29 and May 15, 2000; May 11, 2001; April 6, 2002; April 7, 2003; October 30, 2011; November 2, 2011 in relation to housing benefit applications, namely that she failed to declare she had excess capital.

She was also charged that between November 24, 1998 and June 12, 2011 she evaded the liabilty to make a council tax payment of £12,258 to Croydon council and made a money transfer of £60,059, by deception, from the Department of Work and Pensions on March 26, 2002.

Hewlett also faced a charge of obtaining a £44,326 money transfer, by deception, from the Department of Work and Pensions.

Eleven Years For Abuser Who Repeatedly Raped Indian Domestic Worker

A cruel boss, who repeatedly raped an Indian domestic servant, who was used and abused by him as a “sexual toy” has been caged for eleven years.

Two women, who mistreated her as a “general dogsbody” received non-custodial sentences.

The 39 year-old vulnerable and illiterate mother-of-four became a virtual slave of the family for six years, despite repeated complaints to the police and social services.

She was also scalded with boiling water, burned with a hot iron, beaten and threatened that if she complained her throat would be cut and her body buried in a back garden, Croydon Crown Court heard.

She worked sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, between October 2004 and October 2010, which even at a minimum wage rate should have seen her paid £172,288. In reality she received just £2,364.

Butcher Enkarta Balapovi, 53, (pic.top) of Charlbert Street, St. John's Wood was convicted of five counts of rape.

Optician Shashi Obhrai, 53, (pic.mid.) of Pembroke Road, Northwood received 18 months for causing actual bodily harm and 20 months for threatening to kill the victim.

Those terms were both suspended for twenty months and she was also ordered to complete 100 hours community service.

Secretary Shamina Yousuf, 33, (pic.bottom) of Pavilion Way, Edgware received a community order for causing actual bodily harm and was ordered to complete 40 hours community service.

After the verdicts the victim said: “They have treated me so badly that I worry at night that they will come for me.

“When I think of Salim (Balapovi) I feel like my wounds are reopened. I can't move on - he raped me.

“Shashi Obhrai put a hot iron on my arm when I asked her for my earnings to be paid.

"These people are dangerous they have ruined my life and kept me away from my children. Each should be punished for their wrongdoings."

Detective Chief Inspector Nick Sumner of the Trafficking and Prostitution Unit, said: "This victim came to the UK to earn enough money to provide her children back in India with a better life, but instead the defendants made her own life a living hell for over three years.

"She is deeply traumatised yet found the courage to seek help and face her abusers in court because she does not want these people to able to hurt anyone else."

Prosecutor Miss Caroline Haughey told the jury: "Each of these defendants have collectively and severally taken advantage of her, abusing her in their own way and when she either becomes a threat or a nuisance is passed on to the next party until she is no longer wanted.

"Their view of her has resulted in a prolonged and continued abuse of her.

"Each of the defendants knew of her lack of education, expectation and awareness both in the U.K. and India and used that to get her to comply with their wishes whether as a domestic worker, sexual toy or general dogsbody."

The court heard the victim was never paid her promised wage, had her passport confiscated, was fed scraps and leftovers, including food spat out by the defendant Obhrai's children, and slept in a garage and on the floors of various properties.

"Each of these defendants treated her with contempt, ignoring her basic rights and taking advantage of her naivety, her vulnerability and her ignorance," explained Miss Haughey.

"Tragically various state agencies failed her too, ignoring her repeated pleas for help, not adhering to their own investigative practices, and it could be said ignoring the obvious."

The family successfully applied for a visa, allowing the victim to work in the U.K., promised to pay her £480 per month and she moved into the Pavilion Way address with Yousuf, her husband and their child.

"She slept in the garage or on the floor of the child's room…..She was expected to wash, cook and clean for the family and be at their beck and call.

"Yousuf was short-tempered and aggressive with her," added Miss Haughey. "She recalls being beaten around the head, causing her ears to bleed, and Yousuf poured boiling water over her hands and forbid her to receive any medical treatment."

When Yousuf threw a cup at the victim, causing a two inch cut to her foot, she was arrested, but the husband threatened her into dropping the allegation and the police did not pursue the complaints she made to them.

After two years and eight months with the couple, who paid just £24 for that period, the victim escaped with the help of a Pakistani stranger at a supermarket.

Desperate to get her passport back she agreed to move in with Balapovi and his wife, where she massaged their legs and feet and was forced to work for £2-per hour at a sandwich shop downstairs.

"It was while at this address she was subjected to a catalogue of sexual assaults by Balapovi," said Miss Haughey, explaining the first incident involved the defendant ripping off the victim's pyjamas and raping her on the only bed in the flat.

"She describes how this happened repeatedly, usually on weekends, Mondays and Tuesdays. She says it happened for: 'As long as I lived in the house'."

After four months with the couple the victim was assisted by a charity and her rape complaints reported to the police, but she was then handed over to Obhrai and her ordeal continued.

Her daily routine included cooking for eight people, washing, cleaning, looking after Obhrai's sick mother and enduring beatings, hair pulling and threats at the hands of the defendant - eventually leaving her no option but to attempt suicide by slashing her wrists.

She was hospitalised after being pushed down a flight of stairs, struck with a rolling pin, burned with a hot iron and suffered stomach cramps and vomiting when forced to eat out of date food, the jury were told.

Again the victim fled and reported the abuse to police, but no action was taken and the beatings continued, with Obhrai threatening to slit her throat and bury her in the back garden.

Eventually she contacted the charity Kalayaan, which campaigns for justice for migrant workers, who referred her to the U.K. Human Trafficking Centre and an investigation began.

Home Office Visa Official Jailed For Student Scam

A UK Border Agency visa case worker - who offered extensions to students for cash - rejecting one application when £1500 was not paid, has been jailed for four years.

Civil servant Waseem Majid, 36, by-passed immigration rules on a "vast scale" but was caught after a Mauritian student  recorded his demands for money during a telephone conversation.

He was employed by the Home Office at Croydon's Lunar House and when the UKBA and police raided his home he dumped incriminating files over his back garden fence and more were found in his shed, bedroom and Mercedes car.

Father-of-one Majid, of Chestnut Rise, Woolwich was convicted of two counts of misconduct in public office on or before August 28, 2011 - the day his home was raided.

"He was encouraging people and he was doing it for money," said Croydon Crown Court Judge Stephen Waller. "It only came to light because one person had the guts to go to the police.

"You knew the power you had over applicants and you were trusted by your employers to act responsibly and fairly," the judge told first-time offender Majid.

"You abused your position to access confidential information to provide an immigration advisory service on a widespread basis and your motivation was to make money.

"You made a demand of one particular applicant, who wanted a student visa extension, of fifteen hundred pounds. You could have been charged with blackmail, it was a very serious offence."

The court heard UK-born Majid, whose family is of Pakistani origin, now fears his non-English speaking wife will struggle to properly claim benefits while he is in prison.

Prosecutor Mr. Tony Badenoch told the jury others were involved in organising the visa scam, but Majid was the ringleader.

  

"He was at the head of it and had access to information and the opportunity to take that material away from work for criminal purposes.

"He did things way, way, way outside his remit, things that were criminal and Majid was doing this on a vast scale," explained Mr. Badenoch. "He was not just taking home his own files, but everyone else's.

"When his home was visited a brown Mercedes was parked outside and when officers entered they noticed his wife looked nervous and kept glancing toward the back garden.

"Located in a garden next-door was a mass of confidential UK Border Agency documentation in bags and there were more in the shed, his bedroom and the Mercedes.

"He had taken the documentation home for criminal purposes, we say, and texts found on a phone also dumped in the bag contained biographical details of people for criminal purposes."

Texts in the dumped phone revealed Majid had been sent the details of eighteen hopeful visa applicants.

"They knew what Majid was all about, that is why they kept going to him. They knew going to Majid was the best way to sort out the visas, there was a service being provided that was criminal," added Mr. Badenoch.

Investigators discovered Majid had written amounts of money , such as £500 and £1,000 next to the names of applicants he was dealing with. 

Majid telephoned Mauritian-born University of Greenwich business information technology graduate Nirmal Kumar Ramdeehul, 26, demanding £1,500 to approve his visa extension application, and the jury were played the recordings.

"I received a phone call from an unknown person from a withheld number and they told me they worked for the Home Office," the student told the court.

"The person said he was looking after my application and he said he thought I would not be getting a visa.

"He said I had been working over the allowed time of twenty hours per week."

Majid's work extension number was later checked and it was confirmed calls had been made to Mr. Ramdeehul's mobile.

"The same man phoned a few days later, calling me 'bruv', and he said there should be a deal for me to get the visa.

"He said I should pay money to be granted the visa, over a thousand pounds. I was very much shocked, I was not expecting things like this to happen."

Mr. Ramdeehul did not pay any money and a few days later his application was refused by Majid.

Mr. Alex Britton, defending, said: "He has a wife, a five year-old son, has diabetes and suffers depression and he is worried his wife, who is from Pakistan, will not be able to deal with the bills and benefit claims."

Majid, who has worked on-and-off for the UKBA for over a decade was suspended for two years in 2002, but was eventually cleared of any misconduct.

He was sacked on October 20, 2011 and has been living on benefits ever since.

A total of twenty-nine Home Office staff have been convicted of visa offences in the last five years.

Police Catch Late-Night Drink-Driver After Prang

A late-night drink-driver, who crashed into the vehicle he was following when it suddenly braked, has been fined and banned from the roads.

Gardener Martin Inman, 42, of Dumpton Park Drive, Ramsgate, Kent boozed during a pal's birthday before jumping behind the wheel of his car.

He pleaded guilty to driving his Peugeot 306 estate, with excess alcohol in his breath, in Waterloo Road, Lambeth on April 4.

Camberwell Green Magistrates Court (pictured) heard Inman had 62 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35.

Police were called to a damage-only accident at 9.45pm and Inman, who smelled strongly of alcohol, failed a roadside breath-test.

He told the court: “The person in front of me slammed on their brakes. It wasn't my fault.

“I am a self-employed gardener and without my vehicle I cannot work. It has severe consequences on my life.

“I bowed to peer pressure, it was a friend's birthday with drinks after work.

“I have built a business up in London over many years and now I will lose that client base.”

He was diqualified for twelve months, fined £300, with £85 costs and ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge.