Irresponsible quartet banned from roads

A QUARTET of boozy motorists are today the latest to be named and shamed by The Evening Star as part of our determined drink-drive campaign.

The four men were all banned from the roads at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court after admitting driving while intoxicated.

Jonathan Halsall, who had to be treated at hospital after he overturned his car in a roadside ditch, was found to have 93mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Police were called to Coram Street near Hadleigh at 8.40pm on December 16 after he crashed his Citroen Saxa by the side of the road.

Halsall, 28, of Swan Street, Sudbury, had been drinking with friends earlier that evening and when police arrived at the scene of the accident, they found three empty cans of lager on the ground under the car.

Halsall also admitted he had lost his driving license two years ago and had not replaced it.

Robert Corr, 25, of Judith Avenue, Knodishall, was banned from the roads for a year after he claimed paramedics had told him to drive to hospital.

Corr's friend had been knocked unconscious in a pub fight, and Corr said ambulance staff asked him to drive behind them so that someone would be with the man when he came to.

On their arrival at the hospital, police interviewing Corr noticed he smelled of alcohol. Tests showed he had 84mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, the legal limit being 80mg.

The defendant said he had drunk two pints of beer and did not realise he was over the limit when he got behind the wheel on October 18.

Corr said: “I am very sorry, I was only trying to help. The only reason I drove was that my friend got beaten up. I thought I would be alright.”

Robert Goodall, 46, was stopped by police shortly before midnight on December 15 in Norwich Road, Ipswich because he was driving his maroon Mercedes without headlights.

Goodall, of Dryden Road, Ipswich, was slurring his speech when stopped and claimed he had left the house to cool off after an argument with his wife, not realising he was over the limit.

He said: “I very much regret the fact that I was over the limit, it had not occurred to me that I might be. I had not drunk an awful lot but I apologise for my misjudgement.”

David Lawrence, 45, from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, was stopped while driving his Ford Transit erratically on the A12 in Marlesford at 11.20pm on November 14.

Police pulled Lawrence over after he nearly collided with the kerb several times driving through Farnham.

Lawrence said he was suffering from depression when he was committed the offence and was now on medication.

Should drink-drive sentences be tougher? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk

Sentences

Jonathan Halsall, who had 93mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, was banned from driving for two years, and will perform 80 hours' unpaid work in the community. He also had to pay £43 legal costs.

Robert Corr was given a 12-month disqualification and ordered to pay a £50 fine, with £43 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. His blood test showed he had 84mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.

Robert Goodall registered 51mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. He was disqualified for a year, and fined £150, plus £43 legal costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

David Lawrence recorded 58mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. He was given a 15-month driving ban and ordered to pay a £100 fine with £43 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.