Police stopped car on 4am casino run

A DRINK-DRIVER’S luck ran out when he was caught giving his friends a lift to a casino.

Benjamin Scott was over the limit when police spotted him in Lockwood in the early hours of the morning.

There was nothing wrong with the 24-year-old’s driving and he simply caught the officers’ attention because there were four men in a car at 2am, his solicitor said.

Scott, of Maple Avenue in Golcar, pleaded guilty to driving while over the prescribed limit and using a vehicle without insurance.

He was noticed by police in an unmarked vehicle heading along Lockwood Road early on August 19.

Vanessa Jones, prosecuting, told Kirklees Magistrates’ Court: “They saw the Ford Focus and spoke to Scott because of the time of day and noticed they could smell some alcohol on him.”

Scott was arrested after failing a roadside breath test. Further tests showed that he had 50 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

His solicitor Jonathan Slawinski explained that the car belonged to his mother and he wrongly assumed that his insurance covered its use.

He said that Scott had been at a friend’s house that evening and had two to three drinks and miscalculated the amount.

Mr Slawinski told magistrates: “He was dropping his friends off at the casino and there were four blokes in the car.

“I think that’s the only reason they spoke to police. He came to a stop and was fully co-operative.”

Magistrates in Huddersfield banned Scott from driving for 12 months.

He was fined £420 and will have to pay £85 prosecution costs plus £42 victim surcharge.