Drink driving Sunderland dad crashed car 'trying to pick up phone from footwell'

Police arrived on the scene of the collision in Gleneagles Road in Grindon to find Jason Chisholm had been driving a Volvo S40, with a test revealing he head 55 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millitres of breath.

Paul Anderson, prosecuting at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court said: “Police could see a vehicle had stopped in the middle of the road and could see extensive front-end damage.

“He said he had been driving the car and the mobile phone fell.

“He went to retrieve it and he had hit a parked car, a Renault Megane.”

The court was told Chisholm, of Gordon Road in Grindon, has been convicted of drink driving three times before.

He admitted charges of driving while above the alcohol limit, driving without third party insurance and driving otherwise in accordance with a licence, each on Monday, July 22.

Gerry Armstrong, mitigating, said that Chisholm was someone who had “responded well” to community orders.

The court heard from the Probation Service that the 33-year-old father been at home when he received a call about a family member.

Chairman of the bench Maria O’Neill told Chisholm he would be banned for three years.

He was also given a 12-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work, ordered to pay £85 in court costs and and £90 victim surcharge.

There was no separate penalty given for the offences of driving without a licence or insurance.