Hero HGV drivers formed road block to stop drunk Polish man with 40-tonne lorry on A1 near Doncaster

Petro Dziadevuch, 65, from Poland was driving his loaded 44-tonne refrigerated lorry down the A1 when two HGV drivers noticed his erratic and unsafe driving and took action themselves to stop him.

Dashcam footage of the incident shows how the lorry drivers, unknown to Dziadevuch, used their own vehicles to bring Dziadevuch to a stop and immediately calling 999.

South Yorkshire Police officers attended and breathalysed Dziasdevuch, who blew 165 at the roadside; the legal limit being 35.

Roads policing Sergeant Mark Smith said: “Upon officers’ arrival, Dziasdevuch was highly intoxicated, that much so, he was unfit for questioning for over 16 hours while in police custody.

“His decision to drink while driving a vehicle of that size and load was not only extremely dangerous and alarming but selfish. Dziasdevuch’s actions could have caused a fatality on our roads.

“Drink driving will not be tolerated. The HGV drivers who brought Dziasdevuch to a stop demonstrated how majority of those who drive lorries for a living understand the dangers large vehicles pose to other road users and adhere to the standards and laws in place to minimise that risk, and I would like to thank them for stopping a serious or fatal incident from occurring.

“I am pleased that the courts have seen the severity of Dziasdevuch’s actions and have given him a custodial sentence, which will hopefully act as a warning to other drivers.”

Dzaidevuch appeared before Doncaster Magistrates Court this week and was sentenced to 16 weeks in prison, disqualified from driving for 32 months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £128 and court costs of £85.