Flat tyre ended up with jobless South Tyneside chef facing 17-month driving ban for drink driving
A motorist from South Shields received a 17-month driving ban after being caught drink driving with nearly twice the legal alcohol limit in his system.
A boozy South Tyneside motorist found his bid to get a tyre blown up deflated when police turned up and caught him drunk, a court heard.
Anas Miah, 41, drove the day after downing half a bottle of vodka and the evidence told in a breath test at the South Shields tyre fitting outlet on Thursday, July 16.
The jobless chef, of Bensham Court, South Shields, gave a reading approaching twice the legal limit, prosecutor Jade Houston said.
It was the second time in 20 years he had been caught driving with excess alcohol, borough magistrates were told.
On that occasion in 2006, he was allowed to sit a rehabilitation course designed to teach drink-drive offenders the error of their ways.
Just five years later, he was also convicted of the motoring offence of failing to provide a sample for analysis.
Miah is now starting a 17-month ban after pleading guilty to a drink drive charge.
Ms Houston told the hearing: “The circumstances of the offence are that officers received a report that at Tyneside Tyres there was a driver who was drunk.
“Officers attended the garage and located the defendant. He smelled of alcohol. A roadside breath test was failed, and he was taken into custody.”
Miah gave a reading in breath for alcohol of 60mcg. The legal limit is 35mcg.
He has nine previous convictions from 16 offences, and was last before a court in February last year for being drunk and disorderly.
David Forrester, defending, said: “Quite unusually, he was interviewed about this by the police.
“In interview he indicated that he had drunk half a bottle of vodka the night before.
“He hadn’t eaten or slept much and accepts that alcohol was in his system.
“He drove because he had a flat tyre that had to be blown up. It was reported that he smelled of alcohol.
“He works as a chef but hasn’t been working lately because of injury. He’s aware that he’s going to be banned.”
Alongside his disqualification, magistrates also fined Miah £120, with £85 court costs and a £48 victim surcharge.
They again offered him a place on a drink driver rehabilitation programme, completion of which will reduce his ban by 17 weeks.