Drunk driver left 'housebound' by ban for being over the limit

A DISABLED pensioner claimed he would be left "housebound" once banned from driving after being found drunk at the wheel.

Neil Craig, 69, of Raglan Court, Beeston, is the third driver to be named and shamed in the Post's Christmas anti-drink driving campaign, None for the Road.

Craig was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined £100 at Nottingham Magistrates' Court earlier this week.

He admitted drink-driving in his Volvo in Marlborough Road, Beeston, on Tuesday, December 6.

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A breath test revealed 45 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

A driver for 50 years, Craig told sentencing Judge Morris Cooper his thoughts on the ban: "It's not just a year. It's my life down the pan."

The judge, who told him he also had to pay prosecution costs and a victim surcharge, said if he drives in public, for example in a car park or on a road, he would be driving while disqualified.

Craig responded: "Sir, this has put me housebound now."

Police stopped Craig's Volvo S40 in Beeston High Road, after receiving information that the driver of the vehicle was a possible drink-driver.

Officers said he smelt of alcohol, failed a road-side breath test and was subsequently arrested and cautioned.

The court heard in mitigation that his appearance in front of the judge was devastating day for him. Craig is 69 and about to turn 70, which will require him to reapply for his driving licence.

He lives in warden-aided accommodation in Beeston, is disabled and suffers from shortness of breath.

The court was told that Craig needed his car to get about and he usually drives 1,500 miles a month.

The court heard there was no indication that he had been driving badly at the time of the offence and he was fully co-operative at the police station.

Judge Cooper said it was not the first time Craig had been before the court for drink driving but that the previous instance was a long time ago.

Names of shame

TWO other people have appeared before magistrates in Nottingham charged with drink-driving this month.

Janice Noble, 53, of Sheriffs Lea, Beeston, was banned from the roads for 18 months and fined £100 for drink-driving in Ranson Road, Chilwell, on December 7.

She was in a red Land Rover when she was stopped and found to have 70 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – double the legal limit.

She admitted this offence and a separate charge of theft from Lidl, in Chilwell, of a bottle of wine. She did not receive a separate penalty for the theft.

For the drink-driving she has to pay a total of £100.

In another courtroom, Steven Phillips, of Lorimer Avenue, Gedling, admitted drink-driving in a Ford Focus in Mansfield Road, Nottingham, on December 5.

He had drunk 111 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

The 24-year-old had been driving erratically when he was stopped, clipped a kerb and drove across the road, the court heard.

His case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.