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28
Mar
Drink-driver who crashed into tree near Tockwith given lengthy ban
A drink-driver who crashed into a tree and blocked a road in a village near Tockwith has been handed a lengthy ban.
Shaun Leighton, of Laws Close in Wetherby, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday (March 27) for a sentencing hearing.
Leighton, 39, admitted leaving a car in a dangerous position on Tockwith Lane in Cowthorpe at a hearing last year, but was convicted of drink-driving after trial.
Georgina Fishwick, prosecuting, told the hearing on Thursday that the offences took place on February 18 last year.
She said Leighton had crashed into a tree on Tockwith Lane before leaving his car to block the road.
The court heard that passersby described him as not looking “with it”.
Leighton later recorded 77 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath — more than double the legal limit.
He denied drink-driving at a magistrates court hearing in August 2025, but was convicted after trial in January.
Leighton, who represented himself in court, apologised to magistrates on Thursday.
He said:
I am sorry. You are never going to see me in here again.
Magistrates sentenced Leighton to a 12-month community order, which includes 15 rehabilitation activity days and 150 hours of unpaid work.
He was also banned from driving for three-years and ordered to pay court costs of £620 and a victims’ surcharge of £114.
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