A DRUNK taxi driver crashed his car into traffic lights and veered into oncoming vehicles.

Kashif Malik, of Scott Road, Cutteslowe, wrote off his Mercedes cab in the Oxford Road smash by Water Eaton Park-and-Ride on Sunday, September 2.

The father-of-three had been drinking brandy with friends after a row with his wife, Oxford magistrates was told on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old admitted having 92 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath, above the legal limit of 35 micrograms.

Ann Sawyer-Brandish, prosecuting, said Malik had tried to overtake before hitting a central island.

She said: “The vehicle seems to have lost control, hitting a traffic light and carried on into oncoming traffic.

“It then continued to the pavement where it came to a stop and hit another traffic light.”

Malik – who did not have a passenger at the time of the crash – had been a cabbie for five years for Oxford-based 001 Taxis.

Chris Bennett, defending, said the conviction would mean Malik could not work as a taxi driver for at least five years.

He added: “It was his car that was written off in the incident and he has no source of income now.”

Malik was banned from driving for two years, told to pay £40 costs, and told to complete 100 hours’ unpaid community work in the next year.