400m Drive Costs Man His Licence

A man who drove 400m from a pub to his partner’s house has been banned from the roads for two years.

Ian Johnson, 56, from Onchan, admitted one charge of driving while over the limit at Douglas Courthouse this week.

Prosecutor Sara-Jayne Dodge told the court that Johnson had been drinking in the Manor Pub in Willaston on May 24, where he had two pints of lager and then left at about 8pm.

When he returned to the pub for a third pint, staff were alerted to a car alarm in the pub’s car park, Johnson said it was his car, used his keys to stop the alarm and when challenged said he would be leaving the car at the pub that night.

Sometime after he left the pub a second time, the staff noticed the car was gone and rang the police.

Knowing where his partner lives, the Police went to her house, which is about 400m from the pub, where they found Johnson closing the car’s boot and heading to the house and arrested him on suspicion of drink driving.

While at Police HQ, Johnson recorded a reading of 57 on the breathalyser the legal limit being 35.

Johnson told officers that he had drank three cans of beer after driving his car, but this was rejected after a report by a specialist.

Apologise to the court

Defence advocate Emily Brennan said Johnson had only driven a short distance and there had been no reports of a collision or unacceptable driving, but did acknowledge he had made a “lapse of judgement”.

She said he had valuable items in his car so decided to drive it partner’s house rather than leaving it outside the pub.

Ms Brennan said that Johnson was experiencing a difficult period of his life at the time of the incident which included receiving some distressing family news and was using alcohol as a coping mechanism.

She added that since then he had engaged with Motiv8 and not drank since the incident.

Johnson, she said, feels that he has let himself and his mother down and wished to apologise to the court.

Sentencing Johnson, magistrates said it was “never a wise decision to drive when you have been drinking” and said he put himself and others in danger by doing so.

They fined Johnson £2,000, plus ordered him to pay £125 court costs and £420 for the report required after he said he drank beer after driving from the pub.

He has also received a two year driving ban and will be required to take the extended driving test if he intends to drive again at the end of his ban.