Boozed up driver faces the sack
A Polish man is today facing the prospect of losing his job after admitting getting behind the wheel while more than twice the drink-drive limit.
IPSWICH: A Polish man is today facing the prospect of losing his job after admitting getting behind the wheel while more than twice the drink-drive limit.
Zbigniew Sokolowski, 32, was arrested by police in Shakespeare Road, Ipswich, on November 24.
The father-of-two is the latest to be exposed by The Evening Star as part of our pledge to name and shame drink-drivers during the Christmas and New Year period.
Magistrates in Ipswich heard how Sokolowski was spotted reversing from a parking bay with no lights on at about 9.45pm.
Police officers spoke to him and quickly realised he smelt of alcohol. A roadside breath test revealed he had 81 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.
Appearing at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court, he pleaded guilty to drink-driving.
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He was banned from driving for 20 months and ordered to pay �400 in fines and costs.
Through an interpreter, he told the court that he had gone out that evening to buy alcohol for some friends.
He added: “I have done a silly thing and I would like to apologise for that.”
He told the court he works for an agency in Colchester which often involves driving people to work. When asked by magistrates if he would lose his job, he said: “It is hard to say but probably yes because I work in Colchester and the agency will not look favourably on me again if I do not have a driving licence.”
Sokolowski said he would take a drink-drive rehabilitation course which, if completed, will reduce his sentence by four months.
The Star is pledging to name and shame drink-drivers during the Christmas and New Year period.
For more than ten years we have run our festive campaign alongside those of Suffolk Constabulary and the government.
Are drink-driving laws tough enough? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
