A 57-YEAR-OLD man caught drinking and driving – who “hadn’t learnt his lesson” following previous convictions – has been banned from the roads for three years.
David Parkes was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service after driving from St Aubin towards Les Quennevais while over the legal alcohol limit.
Parkes was stopped by police officers on the afternoon of 9 November last year, when they noticed he was driving erratically and had gone through a red light, the Magistrate’s Court heard.
Advocate Lauren Taylor, prosecuting, said officers noticed a smell of alcohol and two empty wine bottles in his car.
A breath test at police headquarters gave a reading of 70 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – twice the legal maximum of 35 micrograms.
She added that he had previous convictions for drink-driving in 2002 and 1997, and one in 2000 for driving while disqualified.
Advocate Heidi Heath, defending, pointed out that the last offences were more than 20 years ago, and that he had immediately pleaded guilty to the recent one.
She added that Parkes was now four weeks into a 12-week programme at Silkworth Lodge, and said: “This has been a turning point in Mr Parkes’s life.”
But the Magistrate ,Bridget Shaw, said of the new offence: “It is indicative of the fact that you haven’t learnt your lesson. You haven’t got on top of your drinking.”
