Colne drink-driver who narrowly missed a police car was twice the limit

Engineer Zachary Hartley had been seen to manoeuvre sharply into a parking space in front of a pub in Colne. Officers spoke to him through his Mini Cooper window and asked if he had been drinking. He said he hadn’t but then said he had had one drink.

Burnley magistrates were told 20-year-old Hartley failed a roadside breath test and at the police station blew 77 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35. He had no previous convictions.

Mr Daniel Frazer, defending, told the court Hartley had had been drinking pints spread out over the day and didn’t believe he was over the limit. The solicitor said: "Now, he is well -educated that any drink in the system can lead to poor decision making.”

Mr Frazer said the defendant was compliant with police and pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. The solicitor went on: "His mother has come with him to court. She is disappointed in him, but still stands by her son and knows he will learn from what he has done.”

“I don’t think it he will lose his employment, but certainly it will have a knock-on effect when they are looking to progress people through the firm.”

Hartley, of Snell Grove in Colne, admitted driving with excess alcohol on Market Street on October 5th. He was fined £110 with a £32 victim surcharge and £85 costs and was banned for 18 months.