Former soldier was twice the limit when stopped in South Shields for third drink drive offence
A South Tyneside ex-squaddie found himself in the firing line with magistrates after pleading guilty to his third drink-drive offence.
They told Stephen Kerry-Jones, 55, he had again committed one of the public’s pet hates – and gave him the maximum roads’ ban.
Kerry-Jones, of Dean Road, South Shields, turned to booze to numb pain from an injury caused in the line of duty.
But his drinking made the Northern Ireland and the Gulf War veteran a target for police as he drove on the town’s busy Western Approach dual carriageway.
They stopped him in his Renault Megane on the evening after a big booze session, a court heard.
And they did so not because they found fault with his driving, but due to taking a dislike of his car, it was said.
Kerry-Jones has now been handed a 22-month disqualification for an offence committed on Friday, November 6.
Prosecutor Becky Slade said: “At 7pm officers were on duty when their attention was drawn to the defendant’s car.
“They caused the vehicle to stop by putting on their lights and siren, and they spoke to the driver.
“He smelled strongly of intoxicating liquor and his eyes were glazed. He gave a positive roadside breath test.”
Kerry-Jones provided a reading of 79mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath. The legal limit is 35mcgs.
The court heard he also had drink-drive convictions from 2003 and 2009.
Joanne Gatens, defending, said: “He has health complaints from time he spent in the Army, serving in Northern Ireland and in the Gulf War.
“He suffers pain in a shoulder, and had stopped taking pain killers and was instead using alcohol.
“It was alcohol from the night before. He accepts this offence is aggravated by his previous convictions, but the last was 11 years ago.
“There were no aggravating features about his driving. He asked the police why they had stopped him, and they said it was because they didn’t like his car.”
Kerry-Jones, who pleaded guilty to drink-driving and driving without a licence, was fined £140, with £85 court costs and a £34 victim surcharge.
John Lee, chair of the bench, told him his ban was the highest possible for his level of alcohol consumption.
