Shrewsbury driver's whisky claim is dismissed by court

Mohammed Asghar had claimed that officers had poured whisky down his throat just after his arrest on September 6, 2014, before taking him to the police station at Shrewsbury.

The 37-year-old also claimed that police had originally pulled him over because they did not like him chatting to three white girls as he drove his Ford Transit van along Victoria Quay in Shrewsbury.

Prosecuting at Telford Magistrates Court, Mr Chris Coughlan said Asghar repeatedly referred to himself as "the king" and "a gangster" during his arrest.

Mr Coughlan said that the defendant had pointed out a gold tooth and asked officers if they recognised him.

The prosecutor said Asghar had told officers: "I'm going to go to Bradford and hire a Bugatti and you will never catch me."

Asghar had denied one charge of failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis at his trial.

The court was shown CCTV footage taken inside Shrewsbury police station in which Asghar was heard laughing loudly and swearing repeatedly at officers, before refusing to provide two samples of breath.

Mr Chris Coughlan described Asghar's defence as "utterly unbelievable", a claim backed by magistrates who ruled Asghar's case was "not credible".

Giving evidence for the prosecution, Pc Damian Madeley said that Asghar had appeared intoxicated the moment he stepped out of the van and had refused to submit to a roadside breath test.

Pc Madeley denied defence claims that Asghar, of Antrobus Road, Birmingham, had been stopped because he was an Asian man talking to white women.

He said that the van had been stopped because three women had told police that the driver had said he was a taxi and the defendant was not identified until he stepped out from the driver's seat.

Asghar had been arrested and taken to the ground because of his aggressive behaviour, which continued at the police station, the court was told.

Giving evidence, Asghar told the court that he had been followed by police as soon as he arrived in the town.

He said he had seen three drunk women and had driven up beside them to see if he could help after one of them had fallen over, before he then asked for directions to the motorway.

The defendant admitted that he had stopped for one drink in the Beach bar in the town centre but added: "Before they put me in the back of the van they plied me with whisky."

At Monday's hearing magistrates banned Asghar from driving and adjourned sentencing the case until March 4 at Sandwell Magistrates Court for it to link up with other matters.