This footage shows the moment cops locate a drink-driver who fatally knocked a cyclist off his bike and fled the scene before crashing and then falling asleep in a field.

Boozed-up Damian Ralph, 38, of Glebe Farm, Kings Ripton, Huntingdon was behind the wheel of his Hyundai Terracan on Sapley Road as he headed towards the town of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire, England, on 1st November.

It was 10.40pm when he hit cyclist Christopher Mardlin, 58, of The Whaddons, Huntingdon.

According to the Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Mardlin was wearing a hi-vis jacket with reflective strips at the time, and his bike also had working reflectors and lights.

With the impact, Mardlin was knocked off his bike and was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Ralph failed to stop to check on Mardlin and continued driving on, only to crash his car into a hedge around half a mile down the road.

After another road user called the police, a National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter found the suspect in a ditch a few metres from his car.

Police officers who arrived on the scene found him asleep in a nearby field, breathalysed him and found he was over double the legal drink drive limit.

They arrested him for drink driving and causing death by dangerous driving.

He pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving while over the legal alcohol limit at Peterborough Crown Court on 1st December.

He was given seven years and six months in prison and disqualified from driving for seven years and nine months, with the requirement to take an extended retest, during sentencing at Cambridge Crown Court on 31st January.

Detective Sergeant Mark Dollard of the Beds, Cambs and Herts (BCH) Road Policing Unit was quoted in a Cambridgeshire Constabulary press release obtained by Newsflash as saying: “This is yet another case which highlights the utter devastation and life-changing impact someone can cause by getting behind the wheel after drinking.

“Ralph’s driving was appalling but not only that he then fled the scene, leaving Mr Mardlin to be found by the next passing motorist. Ralph crashed his car not long after and was found thanks to help from the NPAS helicopter.

“It is beyond belief that we still have to talk about the dangers of drink or drug driving.

“While Ralph thought he was safe to drive, the truth was he was anything but. The decision he made will no doubt stay with him for life and this case should serve as a stark warning to others.

“People can help us make the roads of Cambridgeshire safer for everyone by confidentially reporting others they suspect of driving while under the influence.”