[O]n the evening of April 7 police received information that a white Range Rover was being driven badly in Carlisle, officers visited the owners home on Berkeley Grange, Carlisle, the owner was questioned on suspicion of committing a possible drink-driving offence.
Thomas Mark Turner, 75, gave a blood sample at the police station and today attended Carlisle Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to drink-driving.
The court was told the blood sample reading was 266 milligram’s of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, this was in excess of three-times the legal limit, which is 80mg.
The court was told he had lost his wife recently and visits the cemetery every day by car, he drank some brandy earlier in the day and was going out for a takeaway meal but didn’t realise he would be over the limit.
Turner was banned from driving for 26-months and placed on a Community Order with an electronic tagged curfew for 8-weeks between 7pm and 7am, he has to pay court costs of £170 and was offered the drink-drivers rehabilitation course which could reduce his ban by 26-weeks.
On passing sentence the presiding magistrate said, earlier before police arrived at his house, “there was some bad driving by him and he was a risk to the public and other road users, this was in a built residential area of the city.”
