A suspected drink driver is being hunted by police after he crashed into traffic lights in the early hours of the morning, it has emerged.

The motorist was driving a white Ford Transit van which hit the signals on Earlham Road, near to the roundabout next to Tesco Express, at about 1.30am on October 1.

The impact woke a 28-year-old man living in the area who has described the aftermath of the crash which resulted in police being called to the scene.

The man, who wants to remain anonymous, said: “The crash was extremely loud.

“I opened the window to see what had happened and could hear the driver trying to start the engine over and over and shouting for it to start.

“He must have been in a panic at the time and wasn’t making much sense.

“He failed to start the van, which I later found out was because he had wrapped the front end of the van completely around the traffic lights, and from what I could see had crushed the railing in front lifting the van up.

“He must have been going at some speed coming off the roundabout to manage that amount of damage.”

The man said the driver got out and started arguing with passers-by who had taken photographs of the damage.

He said: “He sounded extremely drunk as he was slurring words and not making much sense, but while also being aware of what he had done.

“He called someone on his phone who I later found out was his girlfriend or close friend.

“He was asking her what to do and sounded panicked. I believe she told him to wait but he decided to run away from the crash before police arrived.”

A police spokesman confirmed officers did attend a crash on Earlham Road, Norwich, in the early hours on October 1.

They said officers searched the scene but could not find the driver and confirmed enquiries to find him were “ongoing”.

The man added he it was frustrating to think “someone could be so reckless, potentially putting people’s lives in danger and not be caught by police.

He said: “It was lucky no one was crossing at the time of the crash as those pedestrian traffic lights can still be busy at that time of night.”

Anyone with information should call Norfolk Police on 101.