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10
Apr
Drink-driver found by Ministry of Defence Police near Darley
A drink-driver who was found in the back of his car near Darley has appeared in court.
Stephen Cain, 40, admitted one offence of drink-driving during a hearing at Harrogate Magistrates Court this morning (April 9).
Sarah Tyrer, prosecuting, told the court the defendant had been travelling along the B6451 near Darley in the early hours of March 26.
At around 3.15am, Cain was involved in a single-vehicle collision on the road, just north of the A59.
Police officers from the Ministry of Defence soon came across Cain’s car, the court heard, and found him in the back of the vehicle.
Ms Tyrer said:
The defendant told police a friend had been driving the car but he had left to get help. However, the defendant then admitted he was the sole occupant of the car and was the driver [at the time of the crash].
He gave a positive roadside breath test just before 3.30am, after which he was arrested and taken to Harrogate Police Station.
Cain, of Thirlmere Avenue in Noctorum, The Wirral, recorded 53 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath at the police station at around 5am.
The legal limit is just 35 micrograms.
Ms Tyrer said Cain, who gave no comment during his police interview, has a “lengthy” criminal record, with some “very serious offences” on it.
The defendant was convicted of drink-driving in 2012 and subsequently banned. A decade later, he was sentenced for 10 offences of drug-driving, for which he was jailed and handed a lengthy disqualification.
‘I had a lot going on’
Cain, who represented himself in court, said he was in the area at the time for a friend’s funeral, which was held the day before the incident occurred.
He told the magistrates he “made a bad call to drive”, but added he suffers from PTSD.
“It was a bad call, but I had a lot going on”, Cain said.
He told the court:
I am currently working and not involved in anything you see on your screen.
Cain, who wore a blue jacket and blue trousers in court, was banned from driving for 40 months.
He was also ordered to pay a total of £812 to the court, comprising a £519 fine, a £208 surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs.
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