A suspected drink-driver has been arrested following the quick-thinking actions of an off-duty Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) in Thanet.
When PCSO Richie Pankhurst saw a car driving erratically along a Margate street during the evening of Thursday 12 August 2021, he suspected something was amiss.
Noticing the car had no numberplates and the windscreen was damaged, he took the decision to call Kent Police and follow the car from a safe distance to check the occupants were okay while providing a commentary to call handlers about the direction of travel and nature of driving.
The car eventually came to a stop in Elmley Way. Officers attended the scene and a 34-year-old man from Margate was arrested on suspicion of driving with excess alcohol and taken into custody.
Inspector Paul Robson of Thanet Community Safety Unit said: ‘PCSOs work at the heart of our communities here in Thanet and will report anything they see which might be suspicious or linked to criminal activity.
‘The fact that PCSO Pankhurst saw a situation while off-duty and took proactive action to ensure the safety of both the car’s occupants and the wider public, is admirable and a brilliant example of the PCSOs’ dedicated attitude to keeping people safe.’