Wigan drink-driver was unaware he was drinking double measures, court hears

A Wigan drink-driver who had four double rums and then got behind the wheel has been banned from the road.
Wigan and Leigh Courthouse, where the hearing took placeWigan and Leigh Courthouse, where the hearing took place
Wigan and Leigh Courthouse, where the hearing took place

Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court heard Christopher Halsall, from Ince, had been out for a few drinks before driving a Ford Transit van on September 13.

The 25-year-old, of Christopher Street, thought he had been drinking singles and that would mean he was safe to drive. However, he was horrified to be told by a friend that he had actually consumed double the amount of alcohol. And that meant when he was breath tested by police the reading was 49 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

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The court also heard that the lapse in judgement means Halsall is now almost certain to lose his job as he is a self-employed telecoms engineer.

Prosecuting, Tess Kenyon told the court police approached Halsall after seeing him leaving a licenced premises and getting into the van.

The court heard nothing in his manner of driving gave the officers cause for concern, but the roadside tests and samples at the station showed he was over the limit.

Halsall was unrepresented in court and told the bench that he would not have driven had he known how much he had consumed.

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He said: “I didn’t realise how much I had drunk. I got in the vehicle and got pulled over, it’s all my fault. “If I had known I was over the limit I would not have touched that steering wheel.”

Halsall was disqualified from driving for 14 months and was also fined £212 as well as being ordered to pay £85 in costs. He accepted a drink-drive rehabilitation course to reduce his ban.