A 25-year-old man who was seen drinking from an alcohol bottle at an Asda petrol station forecourt before driving off near Merry Hill Shopping Centre has been banned from the roads for 44 months.
Tom Lacey was stopped by police on The Embankment in Brierley Hill on August 15 after security staff at Merry Hill contacted officers. They reported that a male in a stationary Ford Focus on the forecourt of the Asda petrol station had been seen drinking from an alcohol bottle.
Police called after forecourt drinking
Jolene Parnell, prosecuting, told Dudley Magistrates' Court that the vehicle's registration was provided to police. By the time officers arrived, Lacey was observed driving on the roads, described as driving at a speed inappropriate for the road and swerving around vehicles.
Police approached the car while it was stationary in traffic, opened the driver's door, and asked the driver to get out. Following a roadside breath test, Lacey was taken into custody.
More than twice the legal limit
He was later found to have 83 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, more than twice the legal limit of 35 microgrammes. At the hearing on October 1, Lacey pleaded guilty to driving while above the alcohol level limit and driving without insurance.
Lacey's legal representative told the court that his client had fully co-operated with police once stopped and made no excuses for his behaviour, adding: "He knows what he did was wrong."
Magistrate calls behaviour 'very foolish'
The court was told Lacey was experiencing some mental health issues and had turned to alcohol but had since sought support. Magistrate Norma Grant told Lacey that driving and drinking at the same time was "very foolish" as she announced the ban.
Lacey received a 12-month community order and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £114 and £85 court costs. The 44-month driving ban takes immediate effect.
