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17
Jan
Drink-driver stopped on busy Harrogate road and fell asleep at the wheel, court hears
A drunk driver parked his van on a busy Harrogate road and fell asleep at the wheel, Harrogate Magistrates Court has been told.
George Robinson, 36, appeared in court last Thursday (January 15) when he pleaded guilty to one offence of drink-driving.
Prosecutor Sarah Tyrer told the court the Robinson was driving down Parliament Street at around 7.45pm on December 18 last year, when he parked in a “live lane” outside The Turkish Baths.
When he first pulled into the lane, Robinson reversed back slightly before coming to a complete stop. Robinson blocked the lane and remained there for 30 minutes.
Parliament Street, a main through-road in Harrogate, was busy at the time and a member of the public eventually reported Robinson to police at 8.30pm.
“The defendant was slumped over the wheel and seemed to be asleep”, Ms Tyrer said.
Police officers were dispatched to the area and found Robinson asleep at the wheel with the engine was running.
The radio was also on when police arrived.
The court heard:
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.
Empty bottles were also found in the vehicle.
Robinson, who gave the court an address in Darley, was taken to Harrogate Police Station and asked to provide a breath sample.
He recorded 134 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – almost four-times the legal limit of 35 micrograms – at 9.45pm, two hours after he first stopped the vehicle.
Ms Tyrer said there were high levels of traffic and pedestrians seen on CCTV on Parliament Street that evening and described Robinson’s vehicle as a “large van”.
'Alcohol is not a problem'
Andrew Costello, defending, gave the magistrates letters from the defendant, his parents, his friend and his GP.
Ms Costello said Robinson has struggled with his mental health for many years, but said alcohol is “not a problem”.
The defendant’s relationship had broken down not long before the offence, which left Robinson “in turmoil”.
Mr Costello said:
Mr Robinson went into Harrogate to get some Christmas shopping done to try and distract himself. He now says he should’ve stayed at home.
He has a van, but it’s a converted van that has been made into a camper van.
When Robinson was in town with his dog, he decided to go for a drink at the pub.
“He says he drank far too much”, the defence added.
Mr Costello told the court 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.
The defendant also believes he turned the engine and lights off as soon as he pulled in, and the van “was not moving at any point after he stopped”.
Mr Costello added:
Mr Robinson says he regrets his actions and has got the intellect to understand the danger he put other people and himself in.
It was a very sad end to a day out doing shopping.
The court heard Robinson does not take medication for his mental health but instead tries to deal with it by “going outside”.
He and his dog often venture “into the wild”, Mr Costello said, adding:
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.
Robinson has a “good support network around him” and has regular therapy sessions.
Alcohol is not a problem in the defendant’s life but was just a “coping mechanism that day”, Mr Costello said.
The defendant has not consumed alcohol since the offence.
The defence added:
I ask you to believe that he can leave this court today and not come back again.
He has no criminogenic needs. He is already getting help and does not need help with alcohol as this was a one-off.
The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
Robinson, who was banned from driving in the interim, will return to Harrogate Magistrates Court for sentence on April 9.
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