Driving ban for Hebburn man who drove electric scooter while suspected of being drunk
A South Tyneside carer who drove a for-hire electric scooter in the early hours while suspected of being drunk has been banned from driving.
Nick Ridley, 27, hopped on the machine after a night out in Newcastle and headed for home in St Oswald’s Road, Hebburn, a court heard.
But he came a cropper after police and paramedics saw him near the Felling Bypass in Gateshead at around 1.45am on Thursday, January 23.
Ridley smelled of booze and was arrested on suspicion of drink driving but he could not give an evidential breath test because the police station’s machine was broken.
He then refused to have his booze level tested via a blood sample, on the grounds he is epileptic and at times suffers with anxiety.
It was enough for him to be charged with failing to provide a sample for analysis, a crime to which pleaded guilty at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court.
Prosecutor John Garside said: “Police were on mobile patrol when they saw that an ambulance had stopped.
“When they got closer, they could see a male rider on an electric scooter in the middle of the road.
“He was smelling of alcohol, and he was arrested and at a police station, he refused to provide a sample of blood.”
David Forrester, defending, said: “This young man has no previous convictions.
“He works for a company that provides 24-hour round-the-clock care for people with learning disabilities.
“He had been to a funeral and had gone out in Newcastle. He had no money for a cab and no charge on his phone.
“What was in front of him was one of these little electric scooters that you can hire.
“He got on it and thought he could get home that way. At the police station, there’s no breathalyser because the machine is not working.
“He then has to give a blood sample. He’s epileptic and has anxiety at times of stress. He was polite throughout. He says, ‘No, I have anxiety’.
“He says he was sitting there, ready and able to give a specimen of breath.”
Magistrates banned Ridley from driving for a year and fined him £450, with a £180 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.
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