Party drink driver banned for 18 months

Gareth Edward Jasper, 33, of Pengwern, Llangollen, appeared at North East Wales Magistrates Court at Mold and admitted driving with 82 microgrammes of alcohol in his breath – compared to the legal limit of 35.

In addition to the driving ban, he was fined £553, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £55 surcharge.

Magistrates were told that the ban would cause problems for him to travel from his home to his place of work on Deeside.

The court heard his partner would be able to help but she is pregnant and when the baby came it would be extremely difficult.

Justin Espie, prosecuting, said Jasper was stopped at 1am on December 8 at Llangollen Road, Trevor, because of the manner of his driving.

He was arrested when he provided a positive roadside breath test.

Decision

Christie Ankers-Phillips, defending, said that Jasper had been out to a birthday party.

His partner, who was pregnant and due in May next year, drove to the party where he had five or six drinks.

The partner left early and got a taxi home.

Jasper later got a taxi back to her home in Wrexham but he could not get in and he made a decision to drive home to Llangollen when he was stopped by police.

“He regrets that now,” she said.

Miss Ankers-Phillips said Jasper lives quite a distance from his place of employment, works a shift pattern and it would clearly be quite a challenge to get to work and back.

Jasper was offered a drink drive rehabilitation course which if successfully completed would reduce his ban by a quarter.