Alford teenager is banned for drink-drive offence

A '˜good turn' by a teenage engineering student led to him being banned from driving after he failed a breathalyser test.
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Court news

James Edward Cole, 18, of South Street, Alford, admitted driving with excess alcohol when he appeared at Skegness Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Mark Salt, prosecuting, said Cole was stopped at 1am on January 10 in Monks Dyke Road, Louthand was found to be over the alcohol limit.

A reading showed he had 60 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Mitigating, Beris Brickles said there were no aggravating features to the offence and Cole had been fully cooperative with the police.

He told the magistrates Cole had been to a friend’s party and had then offered to drive a young girl home. He said the girl had fallen and injured her foot.

Mr Brickles added Cole was stopped by police because one of his rear lights was faulty, not because of his driving.

Banning him from driving for 16 months, magistrates said the ‘consequences of his ‘magnanimous gesture’ were probably ‘only just dawning’ on him.

Cole was offered the drink drivers’ rehabilitation course which would reduce the period of disqualification by 16 weeks and he was fined £120 and ordered to pay £105 in costs and charges.