A POLICEMAN wept with relief yesterday after a jury acquitted him of intimidating a motorist after a drunken car crash.

Detective Constable Nigel Clarke, 40, who has served 18 years with Cleveland Police, went on a drinking session while on paid sick leave and was accused of trying to cover up a road accident, Teesside Crown Court heard this week.

Mr Clarke, of High View Terrace, New Marske, Cleveland, had drunk four pints of lager when he accepted a lift from Lee Dixon, who was more than three times the legal drink-drive limit.

The pair set off to get a takeaway pizza in Dixon's Peugeot 405, but hit a parked car containing Ken Smith and his wife, Denise, knocking it 35 yards backwards.

Mr Smith, of Longbeck Way, New Marske, told investigating officers the pair followed them into a nearby takeaway where DC Clarke intimidated him by telling him they only needed to exchange details without involving the police. It was also alleged he told Dixon to "leg it" before police arrived.

Peter Moulson, prosecuting, told the court: "He knew Dixon was drunk at the time of the collision and tried to frustrate the prosecution by hatching a cover-up."

The jury returned a not guilty verdict on a charge of attempting to pervert the cause of justice during the incident in September 1999.

DC Clarke said he tried to calm the situation by getting the drivers to write down their details, and denied telling Dixon to "leg it".