Tarrant is charged with drink driving after ‘ neighbour tip- off’
“Having been at home for some time, he was called upon by a police officer who approached him outside his house and required him, following information received by a member of the public, to take a breath test. This test proved positive and he was formally arrested and taken to the Newbury police station.”
The statement said Tarrant’s breathalyser reading was 50 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
Mr Vaughan added: “Mr Tarrant was not stopped by police at the roadside, nor was he given a roadside breath test – nor is there any allegation by police that his driving fell below standard.
“Indeed, they did not witness the journey.”
He said Tarrant intended to plead not guilty when he returned to court on January 18.
Tarrant has been said to have upset locals since he moved into the village in 2004 after buying his sevenbedroom home for £ 1 million. He has already extended it three times before submitting a fourth proposal for an extra two bedrooms.
His application to build a twostorey extension was rejected by councillors but overturned on appeal.
The rooms will be en- suite and measure 11ft by 8ft and 9ft by 8ft respectively. The development also features a 14ft by 11ft ground- floor snug and a 10ft by 11ft utility room.
Families nearby objected to the extension, complaining the property was becoming “over- developed” and losing its character.
But neighbour Helen Pratt, the clerk to Bucklebury parish council, who led the campaign against the development, said last night it was “highly unlikely” anyone in their street would have tipped off police over the planning row.
She said: “It’s not so much the neighbours who were unhappy as much as it’s overdeveloping properties which were built as cottages on the common.
“He’s already extended quite extensively, and that was the view essentially at the time. I wouldn’t say it’s caused anger.”
A Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “A man has been charged in connection with an incident which occurred in Chapel Row, Bucklebury, Berks, on Saturday, December 16. Tarrant, of Pease Hill in Bucklebury, was charged on Saturday with one count of driving a motor vehicle when the alcohol level in his body was above the limit.”
Staff at the Bladebone declined to comment. Inn