Driver blamed his brakes for a crash in South Tyneside despite being three times over the alcohol limit

David Pearson, 41, made the excuse moments after giving a breath test of three times the limit at the Whitemare Pool roads’ hub.

Pearson, of Rudyard Street, North Shields, brought traffic to a halt through a collision with a Ford Transit van at 7.45pm on Monday, April 10.

The dad confessed to police he did not have a driving licence, prosecutor Mike Lawson told borough magistrates.

And the fact he had been drinking, while enjoying a tea-time meal with his mum, was established by a positive roadside breath test.

He is starting a 28-month ban after pleading guilty to drink driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence.

Mr Lawson said: “The facts are that the defendant was driving his girlfriend’s Volvo vehicle.

“A police officer was on duty and was stationary at lights at the Whitemare Pool roundabout, heading in the direction of South Shields.

“While stationary, there was a collision behind involving a vehicle driven by the defendant and a white Transit van.

“The officer was approached by the defendant who said that he shouldn’t have been driving and didn’t have a licence.

“He further said when cautioned and in the back of the police vehicle, ‘I know I shouldn’t have been driving but the brakes failed’.

“The defendant has previous convictions but the last was in 2012 and his last driving conviction was in 2006.”

Pearson gave a breath test reading of 102mcg of alcohol. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Peter Farrier, defending, said: “The only saving grace, if there’s any, is that nobody was hurt.

“It was not caused by the manner of driving, it was caused by a failure of the brakes of the vehicle he was driving.

“He said that he had been to his mother’s for a meal. He hadn’t felt drunk, and she didn’t know he was drunk.”

Factory press operator Pearson was also handed an 18-month community order, with 25 rehabilitation days and 100 hours of unpaid work.

He must pay a £114 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

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