A NEW driver smashed into three cars after getting behind the wheel while his windscreen was still frozen.

David Cole has now been banned from the roads for a year after the crashes in February when Colchester was gripped by sub zero temperatures and he failed to demist his windscreen.

After leaving a car park in Windsor Court, Colchester, he crashed into a parked BMW and Ford Fiesta in nearby St Leonards Road but carried on driving.

As he got to the end of Standard Road he failed to give way at the junction with Barrack Street and hit a moving Audi being driven by a pregnant woman who suffered whiplash-like injuries.

The woman challenged his behaviour but he still drove off.

Cole, 25, later falsely reported the car as being stolen.

It was then found burned out.

Witnesses said visibility was so poor through the front windscreen of the Corsa they could not see him and Cole was only visible through a side window.

He initially denied driving the car but was caught when police pieced together CCTV which proved he was behind the wheel.

Cole, of Onslow Crescent, Colchester, then confessed all in an interview.

At Colchester Magistrates’ Court he admitted driving without due car and attention, two counts of failing to stop after an accident, failing to report those accidents, failing to give information about a driver and obstructing the police.

Philip Pearson, prosecuting said: “The first collision should have caused him to stop and think about how he shouldn’t have been driving but he still decides to move off.”

Elizabeth Bradshaw, mitigating said Cole had only just learned to drive before he crashed.

She said: “He panicked.

“He completely panicked and did something which was foolish and he recognises that.

“He had received advice to deny it was him but did come to his senses when he attended a voluntary interview.

“He is absolutely mortified by the fact the woman involved was pregnant and wants to apologise to her.”

The roofer was handed a 12 week prison sentence which magistrates decided to suspend for a year.

As well as his driving ban, Cole must also complete 180 hours of unpaid work within the next year and pay court charges of £200.