2 weeks Ago By [email protected] (Tom Mack)
A man driving home from his friend's funeral was so drunk he struggled to turn into the drive of his home. When he opened his car door two Leicestershire Police officers were hit by the smell of alcohol. A beer was open in the car and Stephen Astley was barely able to walk.
A roadside breath test showed the 57-year-old was well over the drink-driving limit and he was taken to a police station where he was unable to blow into the breathalyser properly. At Leicester Magistrates' Court on Thursday (March 13) Astley, of Brooklyn Farm, near Hinckley , pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen. Prosecutor Sukhy Basi told the magistrates: "On February 26 at 2.
45am police in a marked vehicle on Leicester Road in Hinckley saw the vehicle. READ MORE: Man must not enter one part of Leicestershire after stalking woman "They had concerns about the manner the black Volkswagen was being driven in. The vehicle took a sharp turn off the A47 onto the B4668 and the officers followed.
"They saw the vehicle brake sharply in the middle of the road for no reason. It made multiple attempts to turn into Brooklyn Farm. On the driveway, the vehicle was making a lot of strange manoeuvres.
The officers approached on foot and knocked on the window. "As soon as the officers opened the door they were hit by the intense smell of alcohol coming from the vehicle. The vehicle began to roll back and the officers had to instruct the driver to apply the handbrake.
"There was an open can of beer in the cup holder and the defendant was slurring his speech and struggling to articulate himself. It was a high level of impairment. He was struggling to walk when he was coming out of the car.
" Astley was given a roadside breath test that showed a reading of 92 microgrammes per 100ml of breath . The legal limit is 35 microgrammes. He was taken to Euston Police Station in Leicester but failed to give a further breath reading, coughing when he tried to blow into the machine.
Mr Basi said: "The officers said he was deliberately coughing through the procedure." Mr Basi said Astley had been convicted of being drunk in charge of a vehicle in March of last year, which had led to a three-month driving ban and a community order. Nabeel Gatrad, representing Astley, said: "Mr Astley is completely and utterly disgusted with himself for behaving the way he did.
He's extremely apologetic and remorseful. He made a very silly, stupid decision on a day emotions were very high. "He had attended the funeral of a close friend who had passed away from a heart attack.
Fortunately there was no accident or any injuries caused. He did cooperate with the police and did give partial readings - it was not a deliberate refusal. Because of his coughing he was not able to provide samples.
" Mr Gatrad said his client lived with his father on the family farm and worked making machine parts while also caring for his 83-year-old father. Astley was given a 12-month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work . He was banned from driving for 17 months and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £114 and £85 court costs.
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