A man has been convicted of two counts of drink driving after taking ‘mental health drives’ around Calne, a court heard.
Police officers on patrol noticed a loud exhaust on a Toyota Starlet in the London Road area of Calne at around 11pm on 27 November last year.
Carrying out checks, the vehicle showed as uninsured. 28-year-old Paul Johnston was the driver and after officers smelt cannabis coming from his vehicle, it was searched. No drugs were found in the car but an officer noticed the smell of alcohol on his breath during a conversation.
As a result, a roadside breath test was carried out and the defendant, of Primrose Drive, Melksham, was arrested on suspicion of drink driving. In custody, he blew a reading of 44 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes. Johnston was charged and bailed for the offence.
However, whilst on bail, he was stopped by officers in Pembroke Road, Calne, shortly before 11pm on 17 January. They were alerted to the vehicle after it’s horn sounded.
Spotting beer cans in the passenger footwell, a roadside breath test was carried out. It came back positive and he was arrested on suspicion of drink driving.
In custody, he blew 97 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
His solicitor told the court Johnston had been leading his life as a bartender and chef, but his work has tried up due to the coronavirus pandemic. He’s been working one week on, one week off and sometimes doesn’t get paid.
Defending, he said his client has become uninsured due to financial difficulties. He said Johnston suffered mental health issues and would go out for a drive with a friend, to spend time together. It was said he lived with his parents and wanted to go out to get some privacy.
The court heard Johnston had been the victim of domestic abuse, currently recovering from a black eye and broken ribs.
Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order to include 150 hours unpaid work and five rehabilitation activity days.
They also disqualified him from driving for 42 months – a lengthy ban due to his previous conviction for drink driving in 2016 and for committing further offences whilst on bail for the initial drink-drive charge.
