AN OFF-DUTY police officer feared that she would die as her car careered off a busy Carlisle road after a collision caused by a driver under the influence of drink and drugs.

CCTV footage of the London Road crash showed the officer's Ford Fiesta spinning out of control after being hit by a BMW which was driven at speed from a garage forecourt.

The Fiesta flipped over, rolling across the road before landing on top of a parked car. Though left trapped in her car, the off-duty officer in the Fiesta miraculously escaped serious injury.

The driver who caused the accident, 27-year-old Mantas Vaitkevicius, was jailed for six months. He admitted dangerous driving, drink driving, and having no valid licence or insurance.

Prosecutor Gerard Rogerson described how on August 29 last year, the day before the crash, the defendant had been to a party in Bolton, when he spent the evening drinking beer and "strong moonshine."

His partner had got up the next morning at 7.30am and realised that Vaitkevicius had left the house. She later took a call from him, when he said he was driving to Scotland with a friend.

At 8.45am, on August 30, said Mr Rogerson, the off-duty police officer was driving her Ford Fiesta along London Road, heading towards Junction 42 of the M6. As she drove past the BP filling station, doing around 50mph, the defendant sped in the BMW towards the garage's exit.

Despite the Fiesta driver steering away from the entrance to avoid a collision, the BMW struck the centre of her car. "That impact caused her car to flip over on to its roof," said Mr Rogerson.

"It rolled a couple of times, her vehicle coming to a halt when it landed on parked vehicles at the nearby garage. She was trapped in her vehicle - and had to be helped out via the boot by passers-by."

After the accident, the Fiesta driver was in "severe shock", with pain to her chest and a grazed hand. "Fortunately, she suffered minor injuries," said Mr Rogerson.

Police found the defendant in nearby Garlands Road.

Wearing flip-flops, and 'covered in mud,' he was almost twice the drink drive limit and over the limit for a cocaine breakdown product.

In her victim impact statement, the off-duty officer said that in the moments before impact she feared she was going to die. She suffered flashbacks, reliving the accident.

"In the four weeks after the accident, she suffered badly with anxiety and depression," added Mr Rogerson, pointing out that Vaitkevicius had a previous drink driving conviction.

Jeff Smith, defending, said the defendant's first question to the officers who arrested him was: "Are the people in the car I crashed into okay?" He apologised for what happened.

Mr Smith said Vaitkevicius, of Cossington Road, Birmingham, began the journey as the passenger, taking over as the driver only after the car's owner said he was too drunk.

Recorder Richard Archer said the defendant's driving was "appalling."

He said: "To drive any distance when in drink and under the influence of drugs is extremely dangerous."

As well as jailing him, the judge banned Vaitkevicius for three years and three months and told him he must pass an extended driving test before driving again.