Hartlepool 'alcohol problem' driver banned from roads after Sunderland car park crash

A man with an alcohol problem has been banned from the roads and told he could have killed after crashing in a car park while almost three times the limit.
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Matthew Horner, 20, of Ocean View, Hartlepool, hit another vehicle while at the wheel of his silver Kia Picanto in Sunderland – and was seen doing so by a witness.

She alerted the owner who dashed to the Oaktree Farm car park in Camberwell Way, Doxford, on Sunday, March 1 - and Horner was confronted.

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He was on his phone and told her he would sort out the smash, but police were called when she smelled booze on his breath.

The crash happened at the Oaktree Farm car parkThe crash happened at the Oaktree Farm car park
The crash happened at the Oaktree Farm car park

A police station breath test gave a reading of 94mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath. The legal limit is 35mcgs.

Magistrates in South Tyneside banned Horner from driving for 23 months and warned him he was lucky not to have killed.

Bench chair Leslie Milne told him: “Drink-driving is a serious matter.

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“In a way you were lucky, you’re in a magistrates’ court. Drink-drive offences can quite often end up in a coroners’ court.”

Prosecutor Clare Irvine said: “This gentleman comes to police attention because he is seen to crash in the car park.

“He pulls forward in a Kia and collides with a parked car. A lady who saw it went and alerted the owner who was in a nearby property.

“She comes out and says, ‘Did you crash into my car?’ He said he would sort it out after making a telephone call.

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“He smelled of alcohol and the police were called. He told them, ‘I know I’ve done wrong, I’ll lose my licence’.

Defence solicitor Jason Smith said: “He’s a young man with no previous convictions.

“It’s not as if young Matthew doesn’t know what he’s done wrong, he does.

“He is understanding that he has an alcohol problem which he is starting to tackle.”

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Horner, who pleaded guilty to drink-driving, was fined £200 and given an 18-month community order.

It requires him to carry out 10 days of rehabilitation work with the Probation Service and undergo an alcohol treatment programme.

He must also pay a £95 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

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