A high-earning drink-driver crashed into railings on a road in a Newcastle suburb after socialising with work colleagues in a pub. Neil Searle, who earns £4,000 a month working in the education sector, decided to get behind the wheel while more than two times over the legal alcohol limit.
The 45-year-old did not get far, as he collided with railings on a road in Byker, prompting a member of the public to contact the police. Officers attended and found Searle in the driver's seat of his car, trying to put it into gear, a court heard.
He was arrested after failing a roadside breath test and later gave a reading of over 88mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath when the legal limit is 35mcg. Searle, of Longfield Terrace, in Walker, appeared at Newcastle Magistrates' Court this week to plead guilty to driving with excess alcohol.
Georgia Smith, prosecuting, said a member of the public reported a collision to police on Allendale Road, at the junction with Commercial Road, on May 17. Miss Smith continued: "Police arrived and a car had collided with railings. The defendant was sat in the driver's seat and said he may have been driving too fast. The car was not moving but he was trying to put the car into gear."
The court heard that Searle had one previous conviction and was "thoroughly ashamed" of himself. Andy O'Hanlon, defending, added: "He has since sold the car because he's disgusted at himself." The solicitor continued: "It's totally out of character. He's driven home from the pub and he regrets it. He met up with people from work and he got a bit carried away. A short time before this, his father died."
Fining Searle £400, with a further £85 costs and a £160 victim surcharge, and banning him from driving for 20 months, District Judge Paul Currer said: "You came to the police's attention because you lost control of your vehicle and collided with railings. It was a minor collision but, nonetheless, it shows the risk you posed to others and yourself."
