A man with an appalling driving record put lives at risk when he careered down a high street in his car while drunk, a court heard.

Gary Reed, 45, of Cooling Road, High Halstow, had already been stopped in his Mercedes A Class on March 10, for driving while banned and having no insurance.

Three months later, on June 23, he got behind the wheel again and caused havoc in Gillingham before smashing into a bus stop, forcing people to leap to safety.

Prosecutor Adrian Crossley said in the later incident that Tina Baker was walking along the High Street in the pedestrianised area with her son when she saw Reed in a Ford Focus with the wheels spinning.

Others had to move out of his way and one shouted at him about the danger he was causing to adults and children.

Reed’s speech was slurred and he gestured to a sticker in the back of the car stating Baby on board.

He drove off towards Wilkinson’s as one mother pulled her child out of the way. He then headed for Victoria Street where he crashed into the bus stop.

Mr Crossley told Maidstone Crown Court: “People were waiting for a bus. They had to jump out of the way. One woman was injured as she struck her leg.

“A man took the keys out of the ignition. The driver struggled with members of the public. He was detained until the police arrived.

“He continued to be aggressive, shouting abuse. He had to be handcuffed.”

Reed, who also spat at a police officer, admitted dangerous driving, two offences of driving while disqualified, driving with excess alcohol, having no insurance and assaulting a police officer.

He has 43 previous convictions for 111 offences, including three convictions for dangerous driving and 12 for driving while disqualified.

Jailing him for 31 months, Judge Heather Baucher said Reed had one of the worst driving records she had ever seen.

She told him: “Quite frankly, very little can be said. Your record is absolutely appalling.

“I make it clear you are an absolute menace to the public in terms of your driving and the way you conduct yourself.”

Reed was banned from driving for three years and will have to take an extended test before being allowed back on the road.

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