AN Ipswich man is banned from the road today for two-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to getting behind the wheel while drunk.South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court heard Sidney Bumstead, 43, of Bramford Road, drove a Ford Escort while drunk on April 1 last year.
AN Ipswich man is banned from the road today for two-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to getting behind the wheel while drunk.
South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court heard Sidney Bumstead, 43, of Bramford Road, drove a Ford Escort while drunk on April 1 last year.
The case took so long to get to court because Bumstead was viciously attacked in a pub a month after the incident which left him in a coma for a day and resulted in brain damage.
Bumstead was also charged with failing to stop after an accident on the day in question which he pleaded guilty to as well.
Gareth Davies, prosecuting, said witnesses spotted Bumstead crash into a car as he tried to park the Escort in Kipling Road, Ipswich, at around 10pm.
He was seen to stagger out of the car and almost fell over, Mr Davies said.
Bumstead collected his daughter from a house on Kipling Road before driving to his home in Bramford Road.
Police traced him to the address and he admitted drink driving.
A test recorded 102 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
Mark Holt, mitigating, said that as a result of the subsequent assault his client had no recollection of the incident.
He added that it was unlikely Bumstead would be in a position to drive in the future unless his condition improves markedly.
“He was entirely co-operative with police,” Mr Holt said.
“There is no excuse for someone driving with that level of alcohol and he acknowledges that it was very serious.
“Fortunately no accident was caused,” he added.
Magistrates disqualified Bumstead from driving for 28 months and told him he must take a competence test before taking to the road again.
He was fined £100 and ordered to pay costs of £55.
No separate penalty was imposed for the failing to stop offence.
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