A DRINK driver from Saffron Walden has been banned from the road for more than three years.
Harry Palmer, 23, of Langley Upper Green, appeared at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Monday, December 8, where he pleaded guilty to drink driving and failing to stop.
He was disqualified from driving for 40 months and ordered to pay £278 in fines and costs.
The charges followed an incident on Saturday, December 6, when a member of the public reported concerns that a man they had encountered at a restaurant was under the influence of alcohol and had driven away.
At 7.49am, an officer spotted Palmer’s vehicle travelling southbound on the A11 from Thickthorn towards Thetford.
They initiated a stop using their blue lights, and he initially acknowledged the stop, indicating and breaking at a petrol station.
However, he then sped off, mounting the kerb and grass verge before rejoining the A11.
Officers from the joint Roads and Armed Policing Team in Suffolk were deployed to locate and stop him.
Further along the A11 towards Elveden, officers intercepted Palmer’s vehicle and safely boxed it in to prevent him from driving off.
A roadside breath test showed Palmer had 121 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, more than three times the legal limit of 35 micrograms.
He was arrested and taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre, where he gave a lower evidential reading of 77 micrograms.
Throughout December, as part of an annual campaign to tackle drink driving, there are fast track court dates available for those charged with drink or drug drive offences.
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This means anyone who is caught driving under the influence on a Friday night could lose their licence by Monday morning, allowing police to make the streets safer by removing drink drivers from the roads quickly and efficiently.
Essex Police are also taking part in Operation Limit, a national drink and drug driving road safety campaign.
During the second week of the campaign, more than 144 drivers suspected of driving under the influence were arrested by Roads Policing Unit officers, 50 per cent more than the previous week's arrest numbers of 97.
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