Pub landlord is banned from driving after refusing to give breath test

Bath magistrates have banned a pub landlord from driving for 20 months after he refused to provide a breath test at Keynsham Police Centre.

Prosecutor Jane Cooper said Darren Godfrey had been stopped at 3am on 21st August while at the wheel of a Mercedes in Redcatch Road in Bristol. He had initially “sped up” when he became aware of the police.

Godfrey failed a roadside breath test at which the reading had been 52 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

He was taken to the police centre in Ashton Way where he failed to provide a specimen of breath for analysis as required.

Godfrey, of Beckington Road in Bedminster, Bristol, pleaded guilty to the offence when he appeared in court on Thursday 11th September.

However, Sam Stevens, acting as duty solicitor, told the magistrates that it was “odd” that the police had said Godfrey had been speeding up as he said he had been slowing down to drop off some customers after his shift.

Mr Stevens said the police had told Godfrey they had intelligence that the vehicle was associated with drugs, but Godfrey had only bought it two or three months beforehand and had never done drugs.

Godrey began to get a bit “paranoid” as he had not had a drink for hours, and with the police not allowing him to see the roadside reading, he feared “something was afoot”. Mr Stevens said Godfrey would have provided a specimen had he been allowed to see the roadside test.

The solicitor also said that a Section 23 search [under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971] had not been carried out in accordance with regulations.

As there had been “lots playing on his mind”, Mr Stevens hoped the magistrates could understand the “predicament” that Godfrey had been in.

The 59-year-old, who runs the Black Cat pub in Bedminster, had a clean driving licence at the time of the offence.

The court heard from the Probation Service that he has had issues in the past but currently has stable accommodation and a full-time job. Alcohol was not said to be an issue for him.

Magistrates ordered Godfrey to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work in the community under the supervision of the Probation Service.

His 20-month driving ban will be reduced by 25% if he undertakes a drink-drive rehabilitation course, as he has indicated.

He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a surcharge of £114.