'We could have been killed': Couple hit by debris as suspected drunk-driver smashes into barrier outside Portsmouth Magistrates' Court

Bradley Baker and Skyla Swan were walking home along Winston Churchill Avenue at 11pm after an evening at Gunwharf Quays when they were pelted by debris as a car ploughed into the barrier running along the middle of the road.

Bradley, a first year computer animation student at the University of Portsmouth, said he heard ‘a loud bang’ as the pair were hit by shards of metal and plastic from the car and barrier.

The 20-year-old said: ‘We were walking along the pavement on the opposite side of the road when were were hit by the shrapnel – the debris flew so far.

‘The driver tried to drive off, but a police officer came running out of the police station.’

The driver had careered off the road next to Portsmouth Central Police Station.

Had there been no barrier in place, the couple would have been ‘seriously injured’, according to Bradley.

He said: ‘We were at the exact position where he would have hit us.

‘I have been so angry that he put someones life in danger.

‘He could have killed someone.’

A spokesman from Hampshire Constabulary said: ‘We attended a single vehicle collision on Winston Churchill Avenue just before 11pm on Friday night.

‘Jack Bloy, 24, of Renny Road, Fratton, has been charged with drink-driving.

‘He has been bailed to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court on January 7.’

The pair did not require medical attention, but Bradley has noticed pains in the leg hit by the debris and the couple have been left feeling less safe.

He said: ‘I had a couple of pains in my leg afterwards. And both of us are now very wary about going out.’