Kirkby man faces £600 taxi fares per month after drink-driving disqualification

Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard Philip Walmsley was stopped by police after they saw him swerving his Ford Fiesta, on Kingsley Street, Kirkby, on October 15, at about 8pm.

Daniel Pietryka, prosecuting, said a test revealed he had 65 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, when the legal limit is 35mcg.

His solicitor said Walmsley, who has no previous convictions, was “extremely ashamed”, because he has always taken care to avoid drink-driving.

He said on this occasion he was driving the 10-minute journey home from a barbeque, but did not consider the drinks he had consumed.

Walmsley receives a pension from John Player’s after 32 years' service, but continues to work as a labourer in Moorgreen.

After the inevitable driving ban it will cost him £600 per month in taxi fares to get to work, his solicitor said.

“It says a lot for him that he continues to work and not simply sit back and live off his pension,” he added.

He is now in a relationship with a woman in Leicestershire who does not drive, his solicitor said, and “it remains to be seen if the relationship will survive the ban”.

Walmsley was banned from driving for 17 months, but he will receive a 17-week discount if he completes a rehabilitation course.

He was also fined £276 and ordered to pay a £110 surcharge and £85 costs.