A drink driving soldier was caught napping in the middle of a crossroads in Wiltshire.
Alinafe Mulenga parked his Dacia Sandero in the road near Porton Down and fell asleep – only to be woken by police officers at around 3am on 28 July this year.
The 32-year-old left his engine running and his vehicle lights on, meaning it was relatively visible to other motorists and likely prevented a road traffic collision.
On Friday (25 August), crown prosecutor Patrick Schneider told Salisbury Magistrates’ Court that when the defendant was woken he immediately attempted to start the car’s engine – which was already running.
At the roadside, he failed a breath test and was arrested. In custody, he provided a sample reading 80 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres, whilst the limit is 35 microgrammes.
Mulenga, of Trenchard Avenue, Winterbourne Gunner, pleaded guilty to drink driving and driving without a licence and insurance.
The court heard that he has previous convictions for similar crimes – including being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle in March 2023 ad failing to provide a specimen in 2018.
Defending, Matthew George said his client ha taken a friend to the airport and stopped for a “few pints” in a pub on the return leg of his journey and “did not think he’d be over the limit”.
He said that Mulenga, believing he had parked at the side of the road, stopped to go to the toilet – but accepts that evidence shows he was actually in the middle of a crossroads.
Having, in his eyes pulled over safely, he then “thought he’d take a couple of winks of sleep”, Mr George added.
The defendant is a serving soldier with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), but attended court unaccompanied because staff there are on holiday.
Concerned about the number of alcohol-related offences in recent years, the magistrates adjourned for a pre-sentence report. Mulenga will return for sentencing in October.
