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07
May
Darley drink-driver almost four-times the limit avoids jail
A Darley man who was almost four-times the drink-drive limit has avoided immediate custody.
George Robinson, 36, was sentenced at York Magistrates Court on Tuesday (May 5) after pleading guilty to drink-driving at Harrogate Magistrates Court on January 15.
At his first court hearing, prosecutor Sarah Tyrer said Robinson parked his van in a “live line” on Harrogate’s Parliament Street at around 7.45pm on December 18 last year.
The defendant pulled into the lane just outside the Turkish baths, before he was seen reversing back slightly and coming to a complete stop.
Ms Tyrer told the court he blocked the lane and remained there for around 30 minutes.
This was reported to the police, who found Robinson asleep at the wheel of the car, with the engine running and the radio playing.
The court heard at the time:
Police woke the defendant up and asked him to get out.
Officers took the defendant to sit in a police van and he was initially arrested for failing to provide. A dog was also found in the defendant’s van and was looked after.
At Harrogate Police Station, Robinson, of an address in Darley, recorded 134 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – almost four-times the legal limit of 35 micrograms - at 9.45pm.
‘Alcohol is not a problem’
Andrew Costello, defending, told the court in January Robinson has struggled with his mental health for years, but alcohol “is not a problem”.
He said the defendant’s relationship had broken down not long before the offence, leaving him in “turmoil”, so he went out that day to do some Christmas shopping as a distraction.
“He now says he should’ve stayed at home”, Mr Costello said at the time.
Robinson was in Harrogate with his dog and decided to go the pub for a drink, where he “drank far too much”.
Mr Costello added Robinson did stop in the live lane, but as he had reversed up it, people were still able to drive past him and turn left at the junction.
He also said the van “was not moving at any point” after Robinson stopped.
The court heard at the time Robinson’s van had been converted into a campervan and he often ventures “into the wild” as a coping mechanism for his mental health.
“The impact of losing his licence is not just an inconvenience, but one of his coping mechanisms will be gone. He won’t be able to go to the Lake District, for example, to cope”, Mr Costello said.
He also told the magistrates Robinson will not be returning to court and has already sought help for his mental health issues.
According to court records, Robinson was on Tuesday handed an eight-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Robinson was also ordered to undergo a six-month mental health treatment programme and complete 20 rehabilitation days.
He was banned from driving 36 months, which was backdated from the date of his conviction in January, but the ban will be reduced by 36 weeks if he completes a drink-drive awareness course.
The magistrates felt there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation for Robinson.
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