Boozy electrician lost job after crashing works van in Bassetlaw

Brett Dudley lost control of the vehicle on Baulk Lane, Harworth, at 2am, on December 4, last year, and was found in the driver's seat by a witness who recognised him from school.

Police arrived to find him with "glazed eyes, slurred speech and swaying," said prosecutor Daniel Wilshaw.

A breath test revealed he had 82 mcgs of alcohol when the legal limit is 35 mcgs.

Cheryl Dudley, mitigating, said: "Mr Dudley recognises there will be significant consequences for him.

"On that particular evening he travelled to the Bawtry area and left the vehicle in Harworth.

"He was assaulted in Bawtry. He planned to stay overnight in the Harworth area. Because of the assault he took the ill-informed decision to drive.

"He only drove a very short distance before he lost control."

She explained that the industrial electrician and father-of-two, "lost his job immediately," and, "without a driving licence, he faces the prospect of unemployment for some considerable time."

Dudley, aged 37, of Derwent Drive, Lakeside, Doncaster, admitted driving with excess alcohol when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Thursday.

He was fined £120, along with a £34 surcharge and £85 court costs.

He was banned from driving for 20 months but magistrates offered him a drink drivers' rehabilitation course which will reduce the disqualification by 25 per cent if he completes it before a specified date.