Trainee plumber banned for drink driving despite plea for magistrates to be lenient

But Junior Edgerton, 35, also known as Pederson, was stopped by police in Kyffin View, near the Nook, South Shields, and was found to be over the drink-drive limit.

Edgerton has now been banned for a year by magistrates in South Tyneside.

Despite his pleas of hardship while defending himself in court, they told him they had no option but to disqualify him for the offence on Friday, January 22.

Prosecutor Ben Woodward said: “The defendant was stopped by police in South Shields.

“They smelled alcohol on his breath and asked him if he had been drinking. He said he had had rum and coke and four cans of lager.

“He was taken to a police station and a CAMIC procedure was undertaken.”

Mr Woodward told the hearing plumbing student Edgerton gave a reading of 43mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath. The legal limit is 35mcgs.

The court heard Edgerton has a previous driving with excess alcohol conviction from 2006 when he also drove without a licence.

Three years later, he was caught driving without insurance and in 2010 was sentenced for aggravated vehicle taking and driving without a licence.

Edgerton told magistrates he had turned his life around and had been crime-free for over a decade – and was now in the second year of a plumbing course.

The dad-of-two, of Birchington Avenue, Grangetown, Middlesbrough, confirmed he travelled regularly from Teesside to South Shields to see his mum and his children.

He added: “Being banned will have a massive impact on my life. I didn’t know that I was over the limit.

“I’ve worked so hard for the past 11 years. I was totally unaware that I had alcohol in my system. I’d been drinking that night, but it was 1am.”

Magistrates said they sympathised with Edgerton for the disruption a ban would cause but insisted they had no legal alternative but to ban him.

Edgerton, who pleaded guilty to drink-driving, was also fined £120 and must pay £85 court costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

Support your Gazette and become a subscriber today. Enjoy unlimited access to local news, the latest football stories and new puzzles every day. With a digital subscription, you can see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Click here to subscribe.