Driver sentenced after crashing into tractor and damaging homes in the UK

The crash in April caused the tractor to veer off the road and crash into nearby terraced houses. Photo / Chester Constabulary

A UK driver under the influence of drugs crashed into a tractor pulling a tanker, causing it to veer off the road and crash into two terraced homes.

The incident happened in Chester, northwest England, on April 1. The moment was caught on CCTV from a nearby petrol station.

Matthew Cumpsty, 52, pleaded guilty to drug-driving and dangerous driving. Now he has been sentenced to a 12-month community order, which includes 200 hours of unpaid work.

He has also been banned from driving for 16 months.

Cumpsty was driving a silver Mercedes E-Class about 6.30am, local time, when he failed to stop at a red light and crashed into the tractor. The crash caused the tractor to veer off the road and into two terraced homes.

While the incident did not injure anyone, Constable Richard Phillips told Chester Magistrates’ Court it was “pure chance that nobody suffered any serious injuries”.

The incident caused distress to the families living in the homes, who reportedly had to flee after the crash and were unable to return as they became structurally unsafe. One resident told the BBC at the time that he had to leave in just his pyjamas.

“All I have is pyjamas and clothes given to me by the Red Cross - it’s literally everything I have, and my cat.”

Cumpsty, of Chester, was arrested at the scene after failing a roadside drug test.

“As a result of one bad decision to get behind the wheel while under the influence, several families were left homeless and commuters travelling into Chester were left with serious disruption for several weeks while repair work was undertaken,” PC Phillips added.