I drank 10 cans in 10 mins, claims drink driver
A TEESSIDE dad-of-two claimed he drank up to 10 cans of lager in 10 minutes in an unsuccessful bid to avoid a second drink driving conviction.
Daniel Tweddle, 31, said he was ‘shocked’ when police turned up at his door after he was seen appearing ‘intoxicated’ about 10 minutes earlier buying alcohol from a nearby shop and driving away.
Tweddle, of Lulsgate, Thornaby, denied a charge of drink-driving claiming he had picked up the Stella Artois on his way home from work.
He said he was drunk when police arrived at his house a few minutes later because he had drank up to 10 of the cans since arriving home.
Teesside Magistrates’ Court was shown footage of Tweddle at 8.40pm buying a pack of lager from a shop in Lanehouse Road on January 27 this year. Officers arrived at Tweddle’s home no later than 8.55pm and he was already drunk.
Anne Mitchell, prosecuting, said Tweddle’s Vauxhall Insignia was parked outside his home and he initially told officers he had consumed one or two cans. However breath tests showed he had 101 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, almost three times the legal limit.
PC Kirsty Struthers, who attended on the evening, said officers questioned Tweddle about if he had been out in the car. She said: “There was some disparity, at points he said he had and at other points he said he hadn’t, it was very unclear.”
Ms Mitchell, said in a statement to officers the following day Tweddle claimed he had bought the alcohol and drank eight to 10 cans straight off. She said: “He said he drinks eight to 10 cans straight off while waiting for his tea. ‘It goes down like water after a hard day’s work.’”
Tweddle told the court that he usually finishes work as a bricklayer at around 4pm, but couldn’t remember what time he finished that day. However, he said he called in at the Thornaby shop and bought the lager on his way home. Asked if he had drunk alcohol prior to that he said: “No nothing. I hadn’t consumed any alcohol before going to Costcutters.”
When asked how much he drinks, Tweddle said: “Between eight and 15 cans on a night. Stella usually.”
The court heard that when officers went to Tweddle’s home the following day they found an unopened 10pack of Stella Artois in the fridge. The defendant said this was a pack he had previously bought, not the one he drank on the evening.
Paul Watson, defending, said there was no search of the bins for empty cans and added: “There is no evidence as to where that was purchased. There is nothing proving it was the one that was purchased (on that night).”
District Judge Steven Hood, said if
Tweddle left the shop and got home five minutes later before he started drinking, he would have had to drink around one can a minute to have consumed so many before officers arrived. He said: “I find that that is an unrealistic amount.”
Tweddle was found guilty of drink driving, having previously been convicted of the same offence in 2013, and was given a 40-month ban. He was also given an 18-month community order and ordered to pay £620 costs and a victim surcharge of £95.