A broken brake light led to the arrest of a drink-driver on a busy Northumberland roundabout. Lee Douglas, 45, was still more than twice the legal alcohol limit when he drove his VW Polo the morning after drinking until the early hours.
Incident Details
Police spotted the defective nearside brake light on Douglas's vehicle at Seaton Burn roundabout around 11.55am on March 31. They stopped him on the slip road for Gosforth. When an officer opened the driver's door, he immediately smelled alcohol. Douglas appeared nervous, shaking, and had glazed eyes.
Court Proceedings
Douglas, a former chartered accountant from Wagtail Crescent, Blaydon, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol at South East Northumberland Magistrates' Court. He had a previous drink-driving conviction from 2008. A roadside breath test showed 75mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, over double the 35mcg limit.
Representing himself, Douglas told magistrates he had received bad news, drank until early hours, then slept, had breakfast and coffee, and felt fine to drive. He said he had since given up alcohol and would not drink again.
Sentence
Douglas was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 costs and a £48 victim surcharge, and banned from driving for 19 months.
