Former footballer jailed for refusing to take breath test
DEAN SAUNDERS, the former international footballer, has been jailed for 10 weeks after claiming he could not perform a breathalyser test because of his asthma.
The 55-year-old, who played for Liverpool, Aston Villa and Wales, was stopped on suspicion of drink-driving after he was seen failing to give way at a roundabout on May 10.
Police officers said the retired striker was slurring his words and had to prop himself up against his Audi 8 when he was pulled over in Chester, Cheshire.
Saunders, now a pundit for TALKSPORT radio, refused to take a roadside breath test and failed to give a sample at Blacon Police Station later that day.
The father-of-three initially maintained his innocence and claimed that his asthma meant he was unable to blow into the tube of the device. Prosecutors said Saunders did not mention his health condition during his arrest.
He yesterday admitted failing to comply with a roadside breath test and failing to provide a breath sample for analysis at Chester Magistrates’ Court. He said he had drunk three pints at Chester Races and at a hotel before he was stopped by police.
District Judge Nicholas Sanders accused Saunders of believing he was “above the law” because of his football career. “Throughout these proceedings you have shown yourself to be arrogant, thinking you are someone whose previous and current role in the public eye entitles you to be above the law,” he said. “You very nearly caused a serious accident.”
Saunders, of Whitegate, near Northwich, Cheshire, was banned from driving for 30 months and ordered to pay £620 court costs. Prosecutors dropped a charge of dangerous driving.