An Ottery St Mary man caught twice over the drink-drive limit after giving police the slip, crashing into a wall, has been slapped with a driving ban.
A 25-year-old man has been fined and banned after he was caught drunk driving on Exwick Road, Exeter Magistrates’ Court heard, writes Isabelle Pinnock, OPCC court reporting scheme.
Michael Taylor, of Mill Street, Ottery, pleaded guilty to driving while over the legal alcohol limit from October 25 last year.
Police were on mobile patrol when the defendant’s Skoda Octavia caught their attention due to a poor manner of driving.
Officers followed, and when Taylor saw the police vehicle, he sped away through a red light at a junction. They caught up with him shortly after to find he had crashed into a stone wall on Foxhayes Road, Exeter.
The court heard that while waiting for the roadside breathalyser, Taylor pushed past officers and tried to get away. A short scuffle followed and Taylor was then arrested.
His evidential reading showed 163 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, double the legal limit of 80.
The defendant, who works as a mechanic, has no previous convictions.
Jolyon Tuck, mitigating, said Taylor will be able to keep his job providing the sentence “remains in the community order threshold”.
He added that the defendant had a duvet and pillow in his car at the time of the offence, and had originally planned to stay at his brother’s address that evening.
“This is a young man committing his first offence. He tells me his alcohol use has changed since this. It is something of an embarrassment to him,” Tuck said. “It was a lapse in judgment, a one-off that he is going to pay a hefty price for.”
Taylor was fined £564 and must pay court costs and a surcharge. He was banned from driving for 20 months.
