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Apr
Drink-driver who parked 'in the middle' of Harrogate’s Parliament Street banned
A drunk driver who was more than three times the legal limit left his car in the middle of one of Harrogate’s busiest roads, a court has heard.
Andrew Gray, 35, appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday (April 23) when he admitted failing to stop a car when required by a constable, drink-driving and driving without due care and attention.
Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting, told the court the incident arose after Harrogate CCTV operators notified the police of a black car that was parked “in the middle” of Parliament Street at around 10.20pm on April 4.
The car, which was near JD Wetherspoon, was stationary for “quite some time”.
The CCTV operatives grew concerned, and even more so when a man – Gray – was seen to the return to the car dressed in pyjamas, with cuts on his face and “acting irrationally”.
Police were dispatched to the area, the court heard, and one officer saw Gray driving the car.
Gray turned left back on to Parliament Street from The Ginnel, but when officers activated the blue lights and signalled for Gray to stop, he instead sped away.
Ms Tyrer said the officers couldn’t pursue Gray as it was unsafe at the time, but details of his car were circulated and it was soon spotted on the border of West Yorkshire.
She added:
The car had been involved in a crash near Harewood Bridge.
A police officer at the scene said Gray’s car was blocking one of the lanes on the road and there was a line of traffic behind it. The officer also said he was pacing up and down the road.
When officers searched the car, they found beer cans, vodka and drug paraphernalia inside.
Gray, who gave the court an address on Devonshire Place in Harrogate, told police at the scene that he had been drinking and was arrested after being breathalysed at the roadside.
A breath test taken just before 12.30am at Harrogate Police Station recorded 109 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of Gray’s breath. The legal limit is just 35 micrograms.
Police described Gray’s behaviour at the station as “erratic” and “impulsive”, and said he was “talking nonsense”.
The court also heard:
The defendant told a police officer he had drunk a 75cl bottle of vodka when the car had come to a stop, before police got there.
However, Gray then refused to provide police with any further information on this.
The defendant has a poor driving record; he was convicted for drink-driving in 2023, making this the second conviction in recent years, and was sentenced for driving whilst disqualified last October.
The defendant stopped near Harewood Bridge. Pic: Alex Van Zeller
'He wasn't in the best place'
Chris McGrogan, defending, told the court Gray is a man who is “struggling to come to terms with two significant problems in his life”.
The first, Mr McGrogan said, is his mental health. Gray has contacted his GP to address his mental health struggles but is part of a “long waiting list” for the mental health services.
The court heard “matters are compounded” by Gray’s ongoing alcohol misuse. Mr McGrogan said:
He’s not working but he has worked most of his life and the absence of that focus that work gives you is making matters worse for him.
Gray has contacted a friend who runs his own business with the hopes of securing some kind of employment.
“There are positives: he’s actively seeking employment and help for his mental health”, Mr McGrogan said.
He added:
He accepts responsibility fully for this and he wasn’t in the best place or thinking straight at the time of these offences.
The police officer noted his behaviour was ‘erratic’ and ‘unpredictable’, and said he was ‘talking nonsense’. These are all symptomatic of the difficulties he was having at the time.
Gray was handed a 40-month driving ban and a two-year community order, during which he must complete an alcohol treatment programme and 20 rehabilitation activity days.
He was also ordered to pay an £80 fine, a £114 surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs.
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