Newcastle dual carriageway carnage averted

Two Vehicles were forced to take evasive action when a cabby drove the wrong way along the westbound carriageway on the A69.....for 5 miles. 

Rasel Ahmed, a 25 year old cabby from Benwell, pleaded guilty to one count of dangerous driving and received a two year driving ban along with a suspended sentence after the court heard how Mr Ahmed turned eastbound onto the westbound carriageway of the A69 at Prudhoe at approximately 5.15am on August 9.

A car and a lorry travelling in the correct direction spotted Mr Ahmed's cars' headlights directly ahead of them near Throckley.

The car in an attempt to overtake the lorry then saw headlights coming toward him in the lane that he was occupying. The lorry driver performed an emergency break to allow the overtaking car space to pull back in. It was as the car went past the two vehicles that it was discovered to be a cab.

Mr Ahmed was not carrying passengers at the time and was believed to be travelling at 60 mph at the time.

The cabby received a 12 week prison sentence suspended for a year and was ordered to do 200 hours of community service as well as receiving a driving ban.