Thursby coach driver Mark Ingleton banned for M1 turn
A coach driver who drove the wrong way down a motorway slip road has been banned from professional driving for nine months.
Mark Ingleton, 35, of Westhaven, Thursby, did a three-point turn on the M1 before driving down the slip road after an accident caused a standstill.
He was one of several drivers filmed by Northamptonshire Police making the illegal manoeuvre on 5 July last year.
Mr Ingleton said he was under pressure from passengers to make the turn.
He was driving members of Whitehaven Rugby League team after a fixture in London and they had been stuck in stationary traffic for 40 minutes near junction 18 at Crick.
He was given the ban after a hearing convened by the deputy traffic commissioner for the North West, Simon Evans.
In his written decision, Mr Evans acknowledged that some of the passengers had become agitated and were affected by alcohol but said it was a "spectacular failure" by Mr Ingleton not to deal with the situation.
Mr Evans said: "I find that the circumstances of the incident betray a significant lack of professional judgement coupled to rank bad driving on Mr Ingelton's part."
The commissioner noted that the incident was an isolated one in an otherwise positive driving career and that Mr Ingleton had since undertaken retraining.
Previously, Northamptonshire Police said the footage was not of a good enough quality to allow them to prosecute other drivers but they did speak to the coach driver who subsequently resigned.