A have-a-go hero helped catch a suspected drink driver who fled the scene of a car crash.

William Hicks, 26 caused thousands of pounds of damage when he drove his Vauxhall into a Renault Clio and a Mercedes Sprinter van which smashed into a BMW 318i while driving in Rosehill Park West, Sutton at 2.45am on Sunday, June 10.

A resident who had been sleeping at the time of the crash, who owned the damaged van, rushed down to see if Hicks was ok.

But when Hicks tried to run off after he could not restart his crashed car, the man, who asked not to be named in case of reprisals, leapt into action, pushing him against the side of his van and tried to stop him from running off.

The man, in his 40s, said: "He ran again and I kicked one of his trailing legs - and his shoe came off. He broke free again and ran off."

"I was joined by a neighbour and we followed the suspect in their car."

By this time police were called and the neighbours directed them towards Green Lane where Mr Hicks had fled.

When asked why he had got involved in the incident, Mr Hicks said: "It’s something I would always do. I have had my car smashed into before and if you have a situation where you can get hold of the person responsible for the damage then I will always take it."

Hicks was found to have receipts that showed he had attended a number of pubs in Sutton before the crash. In police custody, he failed to comply with the drink drive procedure.

At Croydon Magistrates Court on July 13, Hicks, of Green Lane, Morden, pleaded guilty to failing to stop after an accident, failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis and driving without third party insurance.

He was disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to attend a drink drive course.

He was also sentenced to a community order for 12 months, 150 hours of unpaid work, and to pay the Crown Prosecution Service costs of £85.