Mumby drink-driver, 69, banned from driving for more than three years

Dr Peter Whitlam of Mumby Meadows, Mumby, admitted driving with excess alcohol in Mumby on August 8, when he appeared at Boston Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Wednesday).

The court heard that his wife had telephoned police to report him after he left the house in his car to go to the pub.

Paul Woods, prosecuting, said Whitlam admitted to drinking three pints of beer and two whiskies before he was arrested, adding that he had been previously convicted of similar offences in 2008 and 2009.

He said Whitlam gave a breathalyser reading of 45 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

In mitigation, Beris Brickles said there had been ‘no poor driving’ and Whitlam had ‘fully cooperated with the police’.

He said that for the past five years Whitlam had been suffering considerable pain from osteoarthritis and had restricted mobility, as well as suffering from bipolar disorder for all his life.

He said he drank alcohol to help with the pain and had driven to the pub to get a bottle of gin but had stayed to have a drink, but he had been abstinent since then and was now on improved medication.

The magistrates banned Whitlam from driving for 40 months and ordered him to pay a fine of £173 and £115 in costs and charges.