Cliviger man caught more than twice drink-drive limit following spat with partner

A Cliviger scrap metal merchant, more than twice the drink-drive limit, was caught after his van door swung open and struck another vehicle, a court heard.
Burnley Magistrates CourtBurnley Magistrates Court
Burnley Magistrates Court

Father-of-two Christopher Robinson was pulled over in his Ford Transit by police at about 9.30pm and was slurring his words. At the police station, he blew 90 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Burnley magistrates were told the self-employed 29-year-old had had a row with his then partner. He then went to the pub, got drunk, and decided to get behind the wheel.

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Robinson now lives with his mother, after separating from his long-term partner. The offence was said by a probation officer, who interviewed him, to be linked to poor emotional control.

His solicitor, Mr Dylan Bradshaw, said he had been feeling a bit sorry for himself after the row. Mr Bradshaw said: "Instead of going home and trying to resolve the matter in an adult way, he goes to the pub and gets drunk.”

Mr Bradshaw said the owner of the other vehicle had made an insurance claim. Robinson was very insightful about what he had done. He used to drive a lot and saw people he described as idiots driving recklessly. The solicitor went on: "He says 'I was one of those idiots and it could have been far worse'.

"It’s a stark fact he won’t be able to drive his van around. He will have to get a driver. He won’t be able to pick up his children at weekends, which has not endeared him at all to his former partner and made the situation rather more frosty than it already was.”

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The defendant, of Mount Lane, admitted driving with excess alcohol on Todmorden Road in Burnley on November 14th.

He was given a 12-month community order, with 80 hours unpaid work and was banned for two years. Robinson must pay £85 costs and a £90 victim surcharge.