Van driver filmed swigging champagne and rolling cigarette behind the wheel is jailed

A van driver caught on camera swigging champagne behind the wheel has been jailed, police said.

Mason James Cowgill popped a bottle of Bollinger and rolled a cigarette as he cruised down the A65 near the Yorkshire Dales in his work van.

The 27-year-old was caught out when his boss reviewed the in-cab camera footage after the van was involved in a minor collision.

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Police said the dangerous driver was "lucky he did not kill or seriously injure someone" as he was sent to prison for eight months, and banned from driving for 32 months.

In the footage, filmed on June 7 last year, Cowgill takes his hands off the wheel as he pops the cork off a bottle of champagne and chucks the rubbish out of his window.

He is then seen quaffing the bubbley, rolling a cigarette and scrolling his mobile phone as he continues to drive.

Mason James Cowgill was caught swigging champagne out of the bottle while driving along the A65 near Ingleton (North Yorkshire Police)

At one point, North Yorkshire Police said his van went into the back of a stationary car leaving it damaged close to the junction of the A65 and Tatterhorn Lane in Ingleton.

Before the police could arrive, Cowgill left the scene after exchanging details with the owner.

He then continued with his journey while making more phone calls to friends at the wheel and almost causing another collision, police said.

Cowgill reported the collision to his boss, the owner of the van, who then brought the footage to the attention of the police and sacked his employee.

Mason James Cowgill was jailed for eight months (North Yorkshire Police)

PC Babs Parsons of North Yorkshire Police said: “Cowgill is lucky he did not kill or seriously injure someone that day.

“The manner in which he drove demonstrated a clear danger to other road users and I’m amazed he did not cause any more collisions.

“This was not a momentary lapse in concentration, this is a sustained period in which Cowgill paid very little or no attention at all to the road and was clearly not in control of the van he was driving.

“I thank the owner of the van for bringing this footage to our attention as it has enabled us to take a very dangerous driver off the road”.

Police said Cowgill, of Gargrave, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was jailed for eight months at York Crown Court.

He was also disqualified from driving for a period of 32 months including an extended retest.

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