Drunk Leicester Man crashes Father’s ‘pride and joy’ Mercedes

A drunk Leicester man crashed his father’s prized Mercedes which was his “pride and joy”.

Deepak Willkha, aged 38, of Belgrave, opted to drive the car home from the city centre as he did not want it to get scratched.

However, he ended up crashing it into a set of traffic lights.

Leicester Magistrates’ Court heard that Willkha had been going through a divorce at the time of the incident.

He had also quit his job as a result of stress when he went out to meet a friend in the city centre to “spill out his problems”.

Willkha decided to take his father’s car even though he lived on Queniborough Road, which is approximately 1.5 miles from the city centre.

He chose to drive the vehicle home at 4 am on September 26, 2019.

However, Willkha was more than double the drink-driving limit and had only reached Belgrave Circle when he collided into a set of traffic lights.

Willkha suffered a cut to his forehead in the crash.

The drunk Leicester man was arrested by Leicestershire Police. During an interview, he told officers he had been drinking several wines and beers but could not remember how many and “didn’t know exactly what happened”.

Willkha was breathalysed at the police station and it gave a reading of 80 microgrammes of alcohol in a litre of breath. The limit is 35 microgrammes.

On Thursday, October 17, 2019, Willkha pleaded guilty to drink-driving.

His solicitor Perminder Bassi said: “He went to meet a friend for a meal and spill out his problems.

“One drink led to another. It was a bad judgement call on his part. He was only 1.5 miles from home.

“The car is his father’s pride and joy and he didn’t want to leave it in the city centre in case it got scratched or something.”

It has been a difficult six months for him.”

Mr Bassi went on to explain that his client’s 73-year-old father had been ill and had moved in with him as a result. He depended on his son to bathe him and to help him go to the bathroom.

Mr Bassi said that the reason Willkha left his job was a combination of stress at work and having to take care of his father.

He added that his client’s wife had moved to Wolverhampton with their two daughters.

Willkha was fined £326. He was ordered to pay £85 court costs and a victim surcharge of £32. Leicester Mercury reported that he also received an 18-month driving ban.