A driver from Warwick has been given a suspended jail sentence for driving while four times over the drink drive limit.

David Arnold, age 46, from Grassington Avenue, had 141 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of his breath after he was arrested at 8.50pm on December 20 on Woodloes Avenue South. The legal limit is 35 micrograms

A member of the public called police because they were concerned the driver they had seen may be drunk or unwell. Fortunately officers were in the immediate area and stopped Arnold who failed a roadside breath test.

Appearing in court on February 2, he was sentenced to eights weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months with a 20 day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement. He was also disqualified from driving for 34 months and ordered to pay £135 costs and £154 victim surcharge.

Warwickshire Police said: "The court considered the offence so serious that only a custodial sentence could be justified because of the high alcohol reading and manner of the driving. However, the custodial sentence was suspended because he was considered of good character and there is a reasonable prospect of rehabilitation."

Two other drivers from the area also faced driving bans. They are:

Twenty-three-year-old Bradley Jordan, from Knightcote, was disqualified from driving for 16 months for drink driving. He was also fined £438 and ordered to pay £135 costs and £175 Victim Surcharge. He was arrested after he failed a roadside breath test when police were called after he crashed his car in Knightcote.

Sixty-eight-year-old John Evans from High Street, Barford, was banned from driving for 14 months, fined £480 and ordered to pay £135 costs and £192 victim surcharge after appearing in court charged with drink driving and driving without insurance. He was arrested at about 12.40am on December 17 after a member of the public rang police to report a suspected drink driver.

Sergeant Simon Dalby said: “These drivers are finding out the hard way that drinking and driving has huge consequences for them, their partners and families. Drink driving is a serious offence and their sentence means they have a criminal record affecting job prospects and where they can go on holiday as they will not be able to travel to some countries.”

https://www.warwickshireworld.com/news/crime/warwick-driver-narrowly-avoids-jail-term-after-being-caught-four-times-over-the-limit-4507187