Drink driver on one-way-street told cops he '˜felt fine'

A Mansfield man who drove the wrong way down a one-way street while twice over the legal limit told a court he really didn't think he'd had that much to drink.
Mansfield Magistrates CourtMansfield Magistrates Court
Mansfield Magistrates Court

Mark Andrew Mason, 32, of Kingfisher Road, admitted failing to provide a specimen when he appeared before magistrates in Mansfield.

Ruth Snoddin, prosecuting, said Mason was spotted by police in the early hours of June 11 driving his green Nissan Micra the wrong way down Wood Street.

A roadside breath test revealed he had 80 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath when the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

He was arrested and taken to Mansfield police station, Ms Snoddin said, for a formal breath test.

“He was repeatedly told to blow evenly and steadily,” she said. “The officer said he could feel the defendant’s breath down the side of the mouthpiece.”

Mason, who represented himself in court, said he drank six cans and one bottle of beer while watching football at a friend’s house, but had waited some hours before driving home.

He said: “I really didn’t think I had that much to drink. I felt fine.

“I was nervous and scared when I was put in the cells. I only tried the test three or four times. I was not purposely trying to fail.”

He told the court he would lose his job if banned from driving.

He was disqualified for 12 months and fined £170. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

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