Telford drink-driver on wrong side of the road

Slawomir Szostek admitted charges of driving with excess alcohol, without insurance and without a full licence when he appeared before Telford Magistrates Court this week.

Mrs Katie Price, prosecuting, told the court that police officers had been called to Dale Acre Way, Hollinswood, Telford, by members of the public who had seen a car being driven erratically.

Mrs Price said Szostek had driven the Vauxhall Vectra at speed on the wrong side of the road, swerving left and right and nearly losing control before almost colliding with a stationary vehicle as he parked.

Officers attended the scene on the evening of March 29 and, smelling alcohol on the defendant's breath, arrested him.

At the police station Szostek gave a reading of 146 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath, more than four times the legal limit of 35 micrograms.

As Szostek was only a provisional licence holder and thus not legally allowed to drive the car on his own, he had also invalidated his insurance, the court was told.

At the hearing on Monday, magistrates gave Szostek, from Hills Lane Drive, Madeley, an eight-week prison sentence which was suspended for 12 months.

They also ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay prosecution costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £80.

Szostek was also disqualified from driving for 36 months, but magistrates gave no separate penalties on the insurance and driving licence matters.

For Szostek, defence solicitor Mr Jonathan Mason said his 26-year-old client had been at a house party consuming alcohol and had decided to move his car from a shop where he had parked it, to the party.

Mr Mason told magistrates that the defendant was a man with no previous criminal convictions who had lived in the United Kingdom for seven years and was currently working shifts in a chicken factory.

"He's the first to say thank goodness nobody was hurt," said Mr Mason.

He said that his client was fully aware of the dangers of drink driving and had risked a prison sentence because of a stupid mistake to move his car while under the influence of alcohol.

"He's a man of good character, a hard working man who has made one mistake which fortunately he says didn't hurt anyone else," Mr Mason added.