Bassetlaw man stopped by cops after claim he’d 'been drinking all afternoon'

Marcus Smith's blue Suzuki Swift was pulled over on High Hoe Road, in Worksop, at 2.05am, on April 24, after police received the tip-off 35 minutes earlier, said prosecutor Stacey Mills.

The officer smelled alcohol on him and Smith told her he'd had a can of beer two minutes previously.

A test revealed he had 57 mcgs of alcohol in 100 mls of breath when the legal limit is 25 mcgs.

Abbie Edwards, mitigating, said Smith had no relevant previous convictions and usually doesn't drink alcohol at all.

"On this day he had three to four cans of lager over the day," she said. "He wasn't really feeling the effects and didn't feel drunk, and so regrettably, decided to drive."

Ms Edwards said Smith, a "hardworking man," starts his ten to 12 hour shifts at 4.45am each day, and has a six mile journey to work.

"The most anxiety he has is how he will get to work in the morning," she said and asked the bench to keep the disqualification to a minimum.

Smith, 37, of Pilgrim Close, Ranby, admitted drink driving when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on May 13.

On Thursday, he was banned for 14 months, but he was offered a drink driver rehabilitation course which will reduce the disqualification by 107 days if it's completed before January 2022.

He was fined £300 with a £34 surcharge and £85 costs.

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