Drink driver nearly three times limit
A DRINK driver is without his licence today after being given 60 hours community service and a fine for motoring offences and possessing cannabis.Andrew Dickens, 40, who currently lives with his parents in Heath View, Ipswich, admitted seven charges, including being nearly three times the drink driving limit, driving without an MoT or insurance, and a separate offence of breaching a community rehabilitation order.
A DRINK driver is without his licence today after being given 60 hours community service and a fine for motoring offences and possessing cannabis.
Andrew Dickens, 40, who currently lives with his parents in Heath View, Ipswich, admitted seven charges, including being nearly three times the drink driving limit, driving without an MoT or insurance, and a separate offence of breaching a community rehabilitation order.
Police stopped Dickens after he was driving erratically on Foxhall Road in the direction of the Foxhall Stadium at 11.30pm on January 26.
At one point the defendant swerved into the wrong side.
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South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court heard officers noticed he smelled strongly of alcohol and that his speech was slurred.
He was later found to have 99 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - nearly three times the legal limit.
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They also discovered in his blue Rover a tobacco pouch containing herbal cannabis.
Prosecuting, Adele Cook, said: "Dickens stated that he had two pints at a pub and also bought the cannabis there."
Magistrates were also told Dickens failed to register with his probation officer as part of his rehabilitation course following a separate conviction of shop theft on January 21.
The defendant claimed to be ill, but offered no proof.
Mitigating, Ian Duckworth, said: "He has had family difficulties and finds himself alone at times.
"He now says he has to get a grip and he really is asking for help."
Magistrates also ordered Dickens to continue his previous rehabilitation course for one year and to pay £100 costs.
N Do you think Dickens' sentence for the drink driving offence was fair? Write in to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or send us an e-mail to eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk or visit the forum at www.eveningstar.co.uk
