A FORMER soldier who left a young woman on the roadside after hitting her later claimed he thought he had hit a pothole, a court heard.

Justin Evans, 43, knocked down moped user Khia Honan, 21, in Millennium Way near Freeport, Braintree, on September 16.

Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard how Evans, of Brick Kiln Way, Braintree, only called police after one of his daughters told him news of a crash was circulating on social media.

The court was told on Tuesday how Evans initially told police he went home and downed a glass of wine and several litres of cider in 45 minutes after the crash, having believed he had hit a pothole or had a tyre blow out.

On Tuesday, he admitted drink-driving and failing to stop after an accident. A breath test showed 84 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Kieran Dumphy, mitigating, said he believed Evans – a manager at Topps Tiles in Braintree – was suffering from PTSD after spending time in the military serving in Iraq.

He said: “His mother died two years ago from cancer, which I don’t feel he has processed fully. The impact of him having gone through the court system has shaken him to his very core. He is working 50 to 60 hours a week and is a manager, but he has been signed off as unfit for work due to stress, depression and anxiety.”

Passing sentence district judge Susan Holdham said: “I’ve heard a lot about how it’s going to affect him and his family, I might have expected to see some more remorse about Miss Honan and her family’s position.

“I do not accept that you failed to stop because of a blown tyre or because you thought it was a pot-hole.

“I think you knew very well what had happened.”

Evans, was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to attend a drink-driving rehabilitation course.

He was handed six weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, for failing to stop and disqualified from driving for 18 months. He must pay £200.