A CHEF who committed two separate drink-driving offences within weeks of moving to Jersey for a “fresh start” has been jailed for nine months.
Stephen Clayton (58) admitted being in charge of a motor vehicle while under the influence of excess alcohol on two occasions during the first week of May 2026.
The Englishman had arrived in Jersey at the end of April after finding work as a chef at the family-run Beausite Hotel in Grouville.
But several days after losing his job due to a “difference in working style,” he was found “slumped” in his Audi TT on La Rue Vardon by ground staff at The Royal Jersey Golf Club.
Crown Advocate Jordan Gollop, prosecuting, said staff then notified the police who arrived on the scene to find an intoxicated Clayton sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.
The defendant proceeded to fail a standard breath test with a reading of 112mg/100ml – more than three times the legal alcohol limit.
Upon arrest, Clayton told officers that he “wasn’t driving” the vehicle, which was parked approximately 150 metres away from the Beausite Hotel car park.
The court heard that he was arrested and released on police bail, before committing a similar offence in Gorey Village on 8 May 2026.
“At just past ten past eleven at night, police saw a male standing next to a black Audi TT,” Advocate Gollop explained.
“The defendant was arrested at 11.35pm and taken to police HQ and produced a reading of 74mg/100ml.
“CCTV footage of the Beausite Hotel, where the defendant was staying, showed him leaving the hotel car park earlier that evening.”
The court heard that Clayton, who has a relevant previous conviction for drink-driving in Norfolk in July 2025, pleaded guilty to the second offence while denying the former.
However, he amended his plea to guilty for the first offence in the Magistrate’s Court two days before a trial was due to begin.
Advocate Sarah Dale, defending, said that her client had moved to Jersey for a “fresh start” having found work as a chef at the Beausite Hotel.
“Unfortunately, the day before the first offence, due to a difference of working style, he lost his employment there,” she added.
“On the day in question, he had left to leave the hotel and his car wouldn’t start because it had been parked up for a few days and it needed to be charged.
“He [later] drove to the shop and bought the alcohol that he then drank, and parked up on the road opposite the hotel.
“Because of what had happened the day before at the hotel, he didn’t want to return to the hotel, so decided to stay out for the time being.
“The battery was running to try and keep the battery charged, so there was a very, very low likelihood of him actually driving the car.”
She added that the second offence occurred when Clayton had driven back to Gorey Village to locate a mobile phone he had left in the area following a job interview.
“Without thinking, having drunk at home, he then drove and went to go and get the phone – and that is what he was doing standing next to the car,” she said.
Advocate Dale told the court that Clayton had “slipped back into a depression” after losing his job, which had in turn led him to begin drinking to excess.
She added that her client no longer intends “to remain on the Island” and, as a result, made no request for a community service order.
Relief Magistrate Sarah Fitz, presiding, handed Clayton a total sentence of nine months in custody.
“These are two distinct situations and therefore consecutive sentences are appropriate,” she informed him.
Clayton was also disqualified from driving for 36 months and will be required to take a test before driving in Jersey again.
