'It's all gone a bit wrong' says Finedon drink driver caught by BP garage staff on A14
Diligent garage staff noticed a BMW driver was intoxicated so phoned police.
Francis Reed, of Orchard Court, Finedon, was driving his black BMW on the A14 eastbound on the evening of January 21 when he stopped at the BP garage for petrol.
But Reed didn’t have the funds to pay, and staff there noticed he appeared to be drunk, so they phoned police.
He was taken to the police station where he was found to have 69 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 ml of breath – almost twice the legal limit of 35 mg.
The 54-year-old was charged with drink driving and appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Monday, February 9) to be sentenced after admitting the offence.
Reed said he took ‘full responsibility’ for his ‘selfish’ actions.
Representing himself in court, he said: “I could have caused an accident and my actions could have had serious implications for other people’s lives.”
He asked magistrates for leniency, saying he had been seeking help for his alcohol and prescription drug addiction and cited mental health issues.
"It’s all gone a bit wrong,” he said.
He said that keeping his licence would allow him to take his children to school and to visit his elderly parents. He said he had lost two jobs in recent years and needed to be able to drive to get to job interviews. He offered to do community service to ‘give something back.’
"I take on board the responsibility of what I’ve done,” said Reed. “But I beg, if there’s any leniency that could be shown, that would be appreciated.”
But magistrates said they had no choice but to ban him from driving.
He was banned from driving for 18 months, but can take the drink drive rehabilitation course which will reduce his ban by 25 per cent.
He was also ordered to pay a fine of £120, costs of £85 and a £48 surcharge.