A DRIVING ban for a Nafferton man who relied on using his vehicle for work has been described in court as a “catastrophe.”
Martin Lovel, 44, of Eastgate pleaded guilty to drink driving when he was brought before magistrates in Bridlington last Wednesday.
The court heard that Lovel had 115 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine when he was stoped by police in Nafferton on August 10 of this year - the legal limit is 107 milligrammes.
Prosecutor Sally Robinson told the court that when officers stopped Lovel they could smell alcohol on him and he told them he had had a drink half an hour previously.
A road side breath test revelaed 48 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 mililitres of breath, with the leagl limit being 35 microgrammes and a further urine sample was then taken at Bridlington Police Station.
In mitigation Robert Vining said: “One word, catastrophe. The defendant is a self-employed gardener and pressure washer.”
“Nafferton hasn’t got the best bus and train services in the world so he’s going to be in great difficulty. Where his income will come from will probably be state benefits, some of the people he worked for were in Langtoft and places like that and he travelled around. It’s going to hit him hard,” Me Vining added.
Presiding Magistrate David Smith said the bench had listened carefully to what had been said but they had no alternative but to disqualify Lovel from driving for a period of 12 months.
Lovel was also fined £200, ordered to pay court costs of £85 and a £15 victim surcharge. He also accepted the offer of the Reform drink driver rehabilitation course which if completed successfully will reduce his overall ban.