Dilbagh Bhakar, 40, was stopped by police on Connaught Road in Wolverhampton on July 11 after officers were called to the scene. They saw him attempt to reverse away in a Peugeot Boxer van, but he was asked to exit the vehicle. During the conversation, officers believed they could smell alcohol on his breath.
A roadside breath test showed he was over the legal limit, and further tests in custody confirmed he had 75 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.
Court hearing and guilty plea
Bhakar, now of Military Road, Hilsea, pleaded guilty to driving while over the alcohol limit during a hearing at Dudley Magistrates' Court on August 20. The court heard that he had been drinking heavily the night before the incident.
John Derry, defending, told the court: "He had an argument with his partner the following morning and had a drink while arguing." Mr Derry said Bhakar got into the van in an attempt to "put some distance between himself and his partner" and stressed it was an isolated incident, adding that his client had no alcohol issues.
Background and sentence
The court was told that Bhakar had since moved to his parents' address in Portsmouth and was helping out with the family's retail business. He was fined £276 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £110 and £85 in court costs.
Bhakar was also disqualified from driving for 20 months, but he was offered a course that would reduce the ban by 20 weeks if completed by October 1, 2027.
