Washington dad drank seven cans of lager before driving

A dad with an impeccable driving record has been banned from the roads after drinking seven cans of lager and getting behind the wheel.
South Tyneside Magistrates CourtSouth Tyneside Magistrates Court
South Tyneside Magistrates Court

Glen Dinsdale, 32, of Sulgrave Road, Sulgrave, Washington, was exactly three times the drink-drive limit when caught by police on the A182 at Houghton on Wednesday, January 22.

A breath test showed there were 105mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath. The legal limit is 35mcgs.

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The production operative is now starting a 23-month driving ban for an act a court heard was entirely out of character.

South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court was told shift worker Dinsdale had never had so much as a speeding caution from his 15 years of motoring.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson said: “He comes to the attention of the police at about two o’clock in the morning.

“They follow him from the A182 for a couple of miles and he stops in a parking area.

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“He’s been drinking and a roadside test is positive. A Camic reading shows three times the limit.”

In a report prepared by the Probation Service, Dinsdale confirmed he had been to see friends and had consumed the seven cans of booze.

Neil Hodgson, defending, said he had been driving since he was a teenager and never got into trouble.

He said: “He’s had a full licence since he was 17. He has no points, it’s a thoroughly clean licence.

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“He was given spirits and didn’t realise how much he’d had to drink and there was a police car behind him.

“It was a very foolish decision by the defendant. The car was fully legal.”

Deputy District Judge Geraldine Kelly told Dinsdale, who admitted a charge of drink-driving: “You recognise from your plea that this was something that you shouldn’t have done.

“You took a chance. You were over the limit. You are dangerous if you drive a car having excess alcohol in your breath.”

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Dinsdale, who committed the offence in a 2001-plate Vauxhall Comfort motor, was also handed a 12-month community order with a requirement to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

He must pay a £90 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.