Recovering alcoholic over limit

A recovering alcoholic who was more than twice the drink-drive limit admitted in court he had been "very foolish".

Paul Anthony Stokes told Nuneaton magistrates: "I managed to have almost 10 years of sobriety. I dropped my guard."

He was stopped just before 10pm after police saw a Mitsubishi pick-up truck "weaving" on the A5, Watling Street.

A test showed Stokes (50), of Prospect Way, Earl Shilton, near Hinckley, had 82 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

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He pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol in Nuneaton on August 14, and described what happened as "a very foolish event".

He said: "I have suffered with alcoholism for a number of years. I went into a recovery programme in the late 1990s and 2000s."

After what he described as a "really bad weekend", he said, being a coward, he stayed late at work to avoid talking about a separation, following an ultimatum he had been given.

"I parked on the M42 service area, decided I would buy half a bottle and consumed half of it.

"The rest is history. I am in recovery again and regularly attending the AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) Fellowship."

Nuneaton magistrates fined Stokes, who had a clean licence, £400 with £85 costs and £15 victim surcharge, and banned him from driving for 20 months. If he completes a drink-driver rehabilitation course by October 10, 2013, the disqualification will be reduced by 20 weeks.