Northampton drink-driver told to get help for alcohol dependency after blowing nearly four times legal limit

A drink-driver who blew nearly four times the legal limit has been ordered to seek treatment for alcohol dependency after being caught during a Northamptonshire Police Christmas campaign.

ANDREW ROWE, aged 44, blew 134 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath after being stopped behind the wheel of a Fiat 500 on Brafield Road, Horton, on December 17.

The legal limit is 35mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

Rowe, of Roseholme Road, Northampton, was also disqualified from driving for 32 months and ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work after pleading guilty at Northampton Magistrates' Court on Monday (February 7).

He must also pay £180 towards prosecution costs and a surcharge to fund victim services.

Magistrates also banned JAMES DAVID FRANCIS for 18 months after he admitted being nearly twice the drink-drive limit.

The 36-year-old, of Whitworth Road, Northampton, was stopped driving a Renault Megane on December 19. He blew 67mg of alcolhol per 100ml of breath.

Francis was also fined £300 and ordered to pay £119 in costs and a surcharge.

Northamptonshire Police charged 83 suspected drink-drivers during December as part of a Northamptonshire Police road safety crackdown.

Officers conducted a total of 564 breath tests between December 1 and New Year’s Day, which resulted in 119 drivers arrested on suspicion of being behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol or illicit drugs.

Drink-driving is one of the so-called 'Fatal Four' offences — alongside speeding, not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile device — which are the biggest contributors to deaths and serious injuries on roads

County Safer Roads Alliance chair, Superintendent Jen Helm, said: “Our focus continues to be to reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on our roads.

“The work we do as part of our December campaign is so important in reminding people about the danger of this kind of driving behaviour. However, we do not stop enforcing the law once the festive season is over.

“Every year we warn people of the dangers of driving under the influence of drink and drugs, yet there are still some who selfishly and recklessly choose to ignore us - not only putting their own lives at risk, but those of innocent road users."