Three Northampton drivers caught in Christmas drink-drive crackdown banned for total of nearly six years

Magistrates banned a suspected Christmas drink-driver for more than two years and ordered him to carry out 100 hours unpaid work for refusing to take a breath test.

Edward Acquah, aged 39, was stopped behind the wheel of a Honda Civic in Swan Street, Northampton, on December 27.

Documents from a hearing at Northampton Magistrates Court on Tuesday (January 18) revealed Acquah, of Westleigh Close in the town, failed to provide a specimen or specimens of breath during the course of an investigation into whether he had committed an offence.

Acquah also admitted driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and driving a vehicle with no current MoT.

He was disqualified for 28 months, fined £115 and ordered to pay £180 in prosecution costs and a surcharge to fund victim services.

■ AMANDA CROSS has been banned and fined after blowing double the legal limit on Boxing Day.

Cross, aged 48, of Barnwell Road, Northampton, was stopped behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo Mito on Redhouse Road on December 26 during a month-long road safety crackdown by Northamptonshire Police.

According to documents from Northampton Magistrates Court tests revealed 71 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Cross pleaded guilty to drink-driving at a hearing on Tuesday (January 18) and was banned for 19 months, fined £350 and ordered to pay £120 towards prosecution costs and a surcharge to fund victim services.

■ JASON COOPER, aged 35, has been banned for nearly two years after he blew more than double the legal limit.

Tests showed he had 78 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath while he was behind the wheel of a Mitsubishi Carisma on the A605 near Thrapston on December 12.

Cooper, of Hopmeadow Court, Northampton, was banned for 22 months after pleading guilty at Northampton Magistrates Court on Tuesday (January 18). He was also ordered to pay £215 in fines, prosecution costs and a surcharge to fund victim services.

Northamptonshire Police launched its Christmas road safety campaign on December 1, naming all those charged for drink or drug-driving.

PC Dave Lee from the Safer Roads Team said: “The message is simple: Do not drink or drug drive. If you do have to drive, our advice is to avoid alcohol completely. The only safe limit is none.”

“It is not possible to say how much alcohol you can drink and stay below the limit as the way alcohol affects you depends on a number of factors including weight, age, sex and metabolism.

“The risks of getting behind the wheel, not just on the night when you have been drinking, but also the morning after, could be fatal.

“It only takes one second to have a collision which can change your life or the life of an innocent bystander and their family."