Wearside man caught drink driving after using mobile phone at the wheel

Dale Crow, 31, was spotted by officers talking into his hand-held device as he drove a Hyundai in City Road at 8.50am on Monday, February 24.

They tailed Crow, who was living at St Cuthberts Close, Hetton-le-Hole, to the Quayside address of St Anne’s Street.

Crow, now of no fixed abode, was pulled over and breathalysed, prosecutor Rehana Haque told magistrates in South Tyneside.

He gave an over the limit reading for alcohol and was arrested, and an evidential sample at a police station while in custody proved his guilt.

The offender is starting a 20-month roads’ ban after entering a plea of guilty to a charge of drink driving.

Mrs Haque said: “Police saw the driver of a blue Hyundai on his mobile phone as he passed in front of them. He has not been charged with that.

“They made checks and found that the vehicle was being driven without insurance. They followed and he then showed signs of being intoxicated when stopped.

“He has six previous convictions from 10 offences but doesn’t appear to have anything for driving on his record, and his last conviction was in 2020.

“It’s a disqualification of between 17 and 22 months for the drink driving offence."

Crow also pleaded guilty to driving without insurance on the same day and failing to surrender to custody on Monday, March 31.

Robin Ford, defending, said: “It was not bad driving, it was that he was on his mobile phone. He wasn’t swerving across the road.

“He was taken to a police station. He is of no fixed abode but tends to reside in the County Durham area.

“For failing to surrender, he lost his charge sheet.”

On the drink drive charge, Crow was also fined £120 and ordered to pat £85 court costs and a £48 victim surcharge.

Magistrates offered him a place on a ban-reducing drink driver rehabilitation programme.

They imposed no separate penalty against Crow, who owes the courts £2,714 from previous offending, for the other two offences.