Motorist caught four times over the drink-drive limit in Sunderland
A soon-to-be airline worker caught driving at over four times the legal alcohol limit in Sunderland has been spared jail but told he could have killed.
Nabeel Lahdan, 32, was handed a 14-week prison term, suspended for a year, and banned from driving for 32 months for his sky-high reading.
Magistrates heard Lahdan was pulled over by police as he drove a Citroen C4 in Ferryboat Lane, Hylton Castle, at 9.30pm on Tuesday, December 2.
He gave a reading for alcohol of 150mcg in breath, against a legal limit of 35mcg, in an evidential test after his arrest, South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard.
Lahdan, of Tiverton Close, Wallsend, North Tyneside, pleaded guilty to a drink drive charge, his first criminal conviction.
The offender was then slammed by John Lee, chair of the bench, who told him while delivering sentence: “Mr Lahdan, you made a catastrophic error of judgement that night.
“The amount of alcohol that was in your system was at the very very top end of our sentencing guidelines.
“The good thing is that you’re here to tell the tale. You could have killed yourself, you could have killed someone else.
“Who knows what might have happened if the police hadn’t pulled you over.”
Prosecutor John Garside told the hearing: “Police officers on mobile patrol saw the defendant driving a Citroen C4 in Ferryboat Lane.
“He was taken to a police station where he gave two samples. His reading was 150mcg in breath. It’s a starting point of 12 weeks custody.”
David Forrester, defending, said there was nothing about the manner of driving or Lahdan’s background that made his offence more serious.
He insisted the sentencing guidelines, which include imprisonment, did not have to be followed and even a suspended sentence could be avoided.
Mr Forrester added: “There is remorse, no previous convictions and no bad driving. It just seems he’s made a decision in drink to see his partner.”
Lahdan, who Mr Forrester said is about to start work as a cabin officer with easyJet, must also pay a £156 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.
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