Drink driver banned after being caught for second time in five years

John Brady, 63, had glazed eyes and smelled of booze when pulled over by police in Seaton Lane, Seaham, a court heard.

And Brady, of Victoria Road East, Hebburn, also proved unsteady on his feet when asked to get into a police vehicle, it was claimed.

South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court was told he was nabbed at the wheel while drunk in July 2016, for which he was disqualified for a year and fined £440.

But he offended again – despite sitting a ban-reducing drink-driver rehabilitation course which allowed him to get back on the roads after just nine months.

Prosecutor Leanne Duffy told the court: “Officers were on duty in Seaton Lane when their attention was drawn to a Volvo.

“They pulled the defendant over. His eyes were glazed and he smelled strongly of alcohol.

“He was asked to take a seat in the police vehicle and as he walked, an officer noticed he was unsteady on his feet.

“Officers asked him to provide a sample of breath, which was failed.”

Ms Duffy said Brady was taken to a police station where a breath sample on an evidential CAMIC device proved he was over the limit.

He gave a test reading of 60 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

The guideline ban for a second conviction of driving with excess alcohol within 10 years is 36 months, the court heard.

Geoffrey Forrester, defending, told the court that Brady did not accept he was struggling with his walking when moving to the police vehicle.

Mr Forrester added: “You have definitive evidence of how much alcohol he had consumed.

“60mcgs is not the highest reading, by any means.

“I’d invite you to give credit for his early guilty plea. He appreciates there’s a minimum of a three-year disqualification.”

As well as the 36 month ban from driving, magistrates also fined Brady £355, and ordered that he must pay £85 court costs and a £35 victim surcharge.

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