Drink driver crashed into Worksop tree after boozy lunch with boss

A Cresswell man was over the limit when he drove into a tree in Worksop after his boss took him to the pub to apologise for punching him, a court heard.
Mansfield Magistrates CourtMansfield Magistrates Court
Mansfield Magistrates Court

Lee Clarke was driving his partner’s silver Ford Ka when he lost control and hit the tree on Lime Tree Avenue, at 3pm, on January 26.

A test revealed he had 120 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, when the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

In police interview, he said he had drunk two bottles of wine the night before, a can of cider at 10am that morning and two pints of cider between 12pm and 1pm.

Clarke, 46, of Welbeck Street, Cresswell, admitted driving with excess alcohol when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Wednesday.

Rebecca Williams, mitigating, said: “He had fallen out with his employer who had punched him, and he drank far more heavily than he should.

“The following day his boss took him to the pub to apologise and this put him far over the limit.

“This has been a wake-up call. He says he is gutted at what he has done. He is likely to lose his employment.”

Probation officer Cheryl Nisbet said Clarke hit a patch of mud before crashing into the tree.

“The car has been written off and he is lucky to be alive,” she said.

“I think there has been some ignorance of how soon the body gets rid of alcohol. It is something he needs to think about when he leaves here.

“He and his partner have drastically cut down the amount of alcohol they are drinking.”

Clarke was banned for 30 months, but was offered a drink drive rehab course which will reduce his disqualification by 228 days, if completed before October 2019.

He was given a 12 month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work, and must carry out ten days of a rehabilitation activity requirement.

He must pay £85 costs and an £85 government surcharge.

Related topics: