DWP manager given drink-drive road ban after crashing Nissan X-Trail while almost four times the limit

A civil service boss who crashed while almost four times the limit has been spared jail.
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Department for Work and Pensions manager James Marston, 32, drank six pints in the Victoria Inn, Washington, and then dropped off his drinking partner pal, a court heard.

But he slammed his Nissan X-Trail into a roadside bollard just yards from his abode in Kingston Road, Deckham, Gateshead.

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He walked towards police who attended the scene on Monday, August 1 – then gave them a high breath test reading.

The case was heard at South Tyneside Magistrates Court.The case was heard at South Tyneside Magistrates Court.
The case was heard at South Tyneside Magistrates Court.

Magistrates in South Tyneside, who had the option to put him behind bars, refrained from doing so after hearing his crime was a “one-off”.

They instead banned him from driving for 30 months and hit him with fines and costs of over £1,300.

Prosecutor John Garside told the court: “Police were asked to attend Kingston Road in Gateshead after a Nissan X-Trail had collided with a bollard.

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“They arrived and the defendant was walking towards them, and he identified himself as being the driver.

“A roadside breath test was positive. He comes to court without any previous convictions and or cautions.”

Marston gave a reading of 137mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

He pleaded guilty to drink-driving at an earlier hearing.

A pre-sentence report read to the court by the Probation Service revealed Marston’s crime was not typical behaviour but had been a “bad decision”.

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It said he had suffered mental health issues and long-term health problems which had impacted his life – and his offence put him at risk of losing his job.

Michael Robinson, defending, said: “This is a high reading, it’s at the top. It’s a serious matter.

“Normally, I would ask you to think if the defendant has an alcohol problem and has drank for some time, but it’s not a problem.

“He went out and was having problems mentally and met a friend and drank too much.

“It was in many ways a one-off. He had six pints. There was an accident.”

Marston was fined £896, with a £358 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.