Drink-driver jailed after Holton le Clay incident

Police were alerted to Darren Ives, 50, after a member of the public spotted him getting in to a car in Holton le Clay on July 7 this year.

Lincoln Crown Court heard the car moved a short distance and Ives gave a roadside breath test of 118 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

Noel Philo, prosecuting, told the court: “Police were called by a member of the public who saw a very drunk man getting in to a car.

“When they attended Ives was already in the drivers seat. The reverse lights came on and he did drive for a very short distance.”

Ives got out the car and was seen to be unsteady on his feet, slurring his speech and smelling of alcohol.

He was taken to a local police station but refused to provide a specimen for analysis.

Mr Philo said: “It was a deliberate refusal, he was heavily in drink.”

The offence put Ives in breach of a 15 month suspended jail sentence passed at Grimsby Crown Court on December 21, 2017 for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Mr Philo added: “That offence was an assault in a public house. Drink was involved.”

The court heard Ives worked off shore laying pipes on the sea bed and would lose his job if he received a jail sentence.

Karen Scott, mitigating, said Ives had committed just two offences in 29 years, and the pub assault for which he received the suspended jail sentence dated back to 2015.

Miss Scott told the court: “He is a hard-working family man. He lives with his partner and three children.”

Ives, of Mill Road, Cleethorpes, pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to provide a specimen on July 7 and breaching his suspended sentence passed at Grimsby Crown Court in December 2017.

Passing sentence, Recorder Simon King told Ives the consequences could have been much worse if he hadn’t been stopped from driving by a member of the public.

The Recorder said: “You got yourself extremely drunk and did drive a short distance.

“The road side breath test was approximately three times over the limit.”

Ives was sentenced to two months imprisonment for failing to provide a specimen and two months consecutive for breaching his suspended sentence.

He was also banned from driving for 32 months and must take a re-test.

Recorder King told Ives: “Mr Ives it is time to learn that if the court gives you a second chance you don’t tear it up.”