Shamed motorists appear in court after Christmas drink-drive crackdown

Those caught in the Dorset Police festive crackdown include a soldier, a man who ‘self-medicated’ with alcohol and a father who had two children in his car at the time of driving drunk.

The county-wide Christmas campaign ran from December 1-31, and saw 35 people charged with drink or drug-related driving offences.

Inspector Matt Butler, of Dorset Police’s Traffic Unit, said: “There are numerous possible consequences of drink driving. Not only do you risk being caught by the police and appearing in court, there is also an increased risk of being involved in a collision which could result in serious or even fatal injuries. “There are still some drivers in Dorset who are not getting the message that drinking and driving is dangerous and is not worth the risk.

“Drink driving will not be tolerated in Dorset and officers will continue to target those motorists who think they are above the law and pose threats to the safety of themselves and other road users by getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol.”

DANYAL JOHNSON

A SOLDIER may face discharge from the Army after causing thousands of pounds-worth of damage while driving under the influence.

Danyal Louis Johnson, 20, of Bovington, was handed an 18-month driving ban at Weymouth Magistrates Court after admitting drink-driving following his work Christmas party on December 16 last year.

The court heard Johnson was followed by members of the Army to a Chinese restaurant on King George Road after he was spotted driving his Renault Clio and clipping Army property, causing damage to the extent of more than £3000.

Johnson, who is training to be an engineer at Bovington Camp, was then walked back to the camp where police administered a breathalyser test and found him to have 102mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

Mitigating, Des Reynolds told the court Johnson had gone to pub after his work Christmas party and had been ‘drowning his sorrows’ due to a problematic relationship with his parents and the breakdown of a recent relationship.

Johnson was said to have not thought about the consequences of getting in his car and driving after he had consumed six to eight pints of lager, the court heard.

Mr Reynolds told the court that Johnson may face demotion or discharge from the Army and a disqualification from driving would mean he would be unable to finish his training as an engineer.

District judge Stephen Nicholls handed Johnson a 12-month unpaid work community order, an 18-month disqualification from driving and he was ordered to pay £85 to the prosecution service and a £60 victim surcharge.

SIMON POWELL

A PORTLAND father has been disqualified from driving after being caught nearly twice over the legal drink drive limit while driving with his daughters in the car.

Simon John Powell, 46, of Shortlands, Portland, appeared before Weymouth Magistrates and entered a guilty plea to a charge of driving a vehicle when the alcohol level was above the limit.

The court heard that on December 5 at Easton Street on Portland, Powell drove a vehicle after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion was 69 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath.

Prosecutor Lee Turner told magistrates that at around 6.45pm on December 5 the police were on patrol on Portland when they saw a car driving and it swerved to the other side of the road.

Officers stopped the car in Easton Street. Mr Powell’s two young daughters were in the car.

The court heard that Powell failed a roadside breath test.

Mitigating, Patti Sheehan called the incident a ‘regrettable error of judgement’ and that as a result, Powell would lose his job as an HGV driver. She said she asked the defendant why he had done it. Miss Sheehan said Powell told her: “We were just going to go down and look at the lights.”

She said Powell was ‘devastated’ by the incident and said he was ‘incredibly sorry.’ Miss Sheehan added: “Somebody who's clearly an upstanding member of the community makes an enormously foolish mistake.”

Handing down the sentence, chairman of the bench Colin Weston disqualified Powell from driving for 19 months and ordered him to pay a fine of £300, a victim surcharge of £30 and court costs of £85.

CHARLES GOODALL

THE latest drink-driver convicted following a Christmas crackdown by Dorset Police has been fined £1,200.

Charles Peter Goodall, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of driving while over the limit on December 13 last year.

When breathalysed after being caught driving an Audi A3 in Suffolk Road, Bournemouth, the amount of alcohol in his breath was found to be 95 micrograms in 100ml, nearly three times the legal limit.

Goodall, of Melbury Osmond, Dorchester, was banned from driving for 24 months, and ordered to pay £85 and the £120 victim surcharge.

DANIEL BRACHER

A DRIVER has lost his licence after he got behind the wheel after drinking during the festive period.

Daniel Bracher, 20, of Coldharbour, Sherborne, was handed a 12 month disqualification from driving after he pleaded guilty to drink driving on December 21, 2014.

Bracher was stopped while driving a silver Audi A3 in Lenthay Road in Sherborne. He was found to have 52 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg in 100ml of breath.

The court heard Bracher had a clean driving licence prior to the incident and he was handed a 12 month ban and ordered to pay a £200 fine, £85 prosecution costs and £20 victim surcharge.

KEVIN CAMERON

A DORSET man who crashed his car before walking away whilst drunk has been banned from driving.

Kevin Cameron, 24 of Mccreery Road, Sherborne, was driving a VW Polo on the A30 at 10.26pm when police were called to a single-vehicle collision.

Weymouth Magistrates Court heard how police arrived at the scene to find a vehicle in the middle of the road with no one inside.

Members of the public told police that a man had crashed the car before walking away.

Cameron, who admitted drink-driving, gave a reading of 89 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

The legal limit is 35mcg.

During a police interview, the court heard how Cameron said he was consuming alcohol throughout the afternoon and evening, and acknowledged he had been ‘a silly boy’ by ‘crashing the car and running off’.

Kenny Sharp, representing Cameron, said his client doesn’t recall the incident and was not able to offer anything more than an apology.

Cameron was banned from driving for 22 months, with a 167-day reduction upon completing a drink-driving awareness course.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of £110, costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £20.

SEBASTIAN GREEN

A DRINK-DRIVER was caught more than double the legal limit after he ‘self-medicated with alcohol’, a court was told.

Sebastian Green, 25, of Pendily Avenue in Cornwall, was handed a 16-month driving ban after he admitted drink-driving along Radipole Lane in Weymouth on December 20 last year.

Police were alerted to a drink-driver in the area at around 9.30pm and a breath test found that Green had 84 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath, more than double the legal limit.

In mitigation, David Coomb told the court that Green was ‘a young man who had taken the death of his father quite badly’ and on the date in question had taken himself to Ferrybridge where he had been working on his father’s old boat and after becoming upset had ‘self-medicated with alcohol’ drinking more than he usually would.

The court also heard that Green’s family, who live in Weymouth, had effectively disowned him and were very angry with him for his conduct.

District Judge Nicholls gave Green a 16-month disqualification and ordered him to pay a £200 fine, £85 prosecution charge and £20 victim surcharge.

KIEL BUTLER

A DRIVER has lost his licence after crashing into a wall whilst more than double the drink drive limit.

Kiel Butler, 24 of no fixed abode, was driving a BMW on Chickerell Road, Weymouth at 12.15am on December 27, 2014.

Weymouth Magistrates Court heard how residents of Chickerell Road heard a loud bang before seeing a BMW careering into their neighbour’s wall.

They then saw Butler climbing out of the vehicle ‘clearly drunk’, swaying on his feet and smelling of alcohol.

Butler told them he was drunk and asked them to call the police, the court heard.

Butler, who pleaded guilty to drink driving, gave a reading of 89 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

The wall was taken down as a result of the incident.

Kenny Sharp, representing Butler, said his client's vehicle had a puncture the previous day and his car had been fitted with a space-saver wheel which he wasn't accustomed to.

He added: “My client had been out in town earlier that evening and his vehicle was there.

“Whilst he didn't intend to drive it home, the temptation was there and he succumbed to it.

“His car suffered the same demise as the wall; it has been written off and is no longer roadworthy.”

Butler was banned from driving for 22 months, with a 167 day reduction upon completing a drink driving awareness course.

He was also ordered to pay a fine of £110, costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £25.