Northampton driver who failed to take a breath test on New Year’s Day is JAILED

A suspected drink-driver who failed to take a breath test on New Year’s Day has been jailed and banned from the roads for FOUR YEARS by Northampton magistrates.

Court documents showed Lewis Junior Campbell, aged 35, was already disqualified and just five weeks into a suspended sentence when he was behind the wheel of a BMW on Mereway on January 1, 2023. He also pleaded guilty to having no insurance at a hearing on January 2.

Magistrates who sentenced him to a total of 24 weeks, ruled the offence was so serious because the defendant has a “flagrant disregard for court orders” with previous for similar offences and he posed a risk to the public. He was also ordered to pay £239 in costs and a surcharge to fund victim services.

Northampton magistrates gave Campbell an 11-week sentence, suspended for two years, on November 24 after he was also convicted of drink-driving and driving while disqualified in Norfolk on August 6.

Drink-driving is one of the so-called ‘fatal five’ traffic offences — alongside speeding, not wearing a seat belt, distractions such as using mobiles and careless driving — which are most commonly linked to deaths and serious injuries on roads. The force has launched a new Roads Policing Team to police the county’s roads, focusing on road safety and crime.

Detective Chief Inspector Shelley Nichols, who will head the team, said: “This team will target criminals that use the Northamptonshire road networks to commit offences, disrupting and prosecuting those responsible.”