RAF Coningsby officer crashed his car ‘while three times over the limit’

An RAF officer at Coningsby drove his car home after a night out celebrating the end of a course when he was three times over the limit, a court has been told.
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Court news

Flying Officer Mark Hobson, 25, whose address was given as RAF Coningsby but whose home is in Edinburgh, admitted driving with excess alcohol when he appeared before Skegness Magistrates’ Court on November 3.

Mark Salt, prosecuting, said that at 3.10am on October 2, Hobson was involved in a minor collision with a parked car in Sylvan Avenue, Woodhall Spa, when driving his BMW car.

He said Hobson remained with his car until the police arrived and was arrested after providing a positive breath test and a reading of 106 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

He told the police that he had been out and had had some drinks but could not get a taxi to take him back to the RAF base.

Mitigating, Alex Rynn said Hobson admitted to someone at the scene of the accident that he had been drinking and had sent an apology to the car’s owner.

“He knows he’s done wrong and is remorseful,” said Mr Rynn.

He said Hobson had served in the Falklands and in Afghanistan as an air traffic controller with the RAF and had been on a course at RAF Coningsby since March.

He said that the offence took place on the last day of the course.

After hearing that a community order would be difficult to administer, Hobson was fined £750 and ordered to pay £355 in costs and charges.

He was banned from driving for 26 months but was offered the drink drivers’ rehabilitation course which would reduce the period of disqualification by 26 weeks.

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