Shocking video shows man drinking from bottle of champagne and calling friends while driving his work’s van

This shocking video shows a brazen driver drinking from a bottle of champagne and calling his friends on his mobile phone while driving his work’s van.

Mason James Cowgill, 27, is captured taking both hands off the wheel to open the bottle of Bollinger before swigging away as he drove on the A65 in North Yorkshire.

He is later seen rolling a cigarette - which he places behind his ear for later - and using his mobile phone, again taking both hands off the steering wheel.

Cowgill was involved in a crash, which he reported to his boss who viewed the in-cab footage - and then handed it to the police.

The 27-year-old was jailed for eight months and banned from driving for 32 months for dangerous driving, he will also have to sit an extended retest.

The shocking footage, captured on 7 June last year, shows the interior of his cab as he takes his eyes off the road to use his phone as he drives along.

Van involved in Crash but Cowgill left the scene

At one point in his journey, the van crashes into the back of a car which was stationary in traffic, police said.

The car was damaged in the collision but thankfully nobody was injured.

Cowgill and the car driver exchanged details, but Cowgill left the scene before officers arrived.

North Yorkshire Police said he was ‘lucky he didn’t kill anyone’ as he continued his journey while making more phone calls to friends and almost caused another crash.

Cowgill reported the collision to his boss, who owned the van, and he reviewed the in-cab footage.

The boss sacked Cowgill, of Skipton, and sent the footage to the police.

Cowgill lucky he didn’t ‘kill or seriously injure someone’

Speaking after his sentencing, 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”.

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