Sutton man faced prison for fourth drink-drive conviction on New Year’s Day

Police followed Wayne Stokes as he drove a red Ford Focus on High Pavement, on January 1, at about 5.30pm, Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard.

Emma Gilberthorpe, prosecuting, said that when he was pulled over Stokes, aged 56, identified himself as being drunk and was taken to the police station.

He refused to provide a breath specimen on medical grounds, but could not offer any proof.

The court heard he has 26 previous convictions for 83 offences, 14 of which are for driving while disqualified, and three are for drink driving.

He was last before the courts in July 2020 when he received a suspended sentence and a driving ban.

Stokes admitted refusing to provide a specimen and driving while disqualified and without insurance.

Mark Stocks, mitigating, said Stokes, a water engineer, had been out on New Year's Eve and drank “a significant quantity of alcohol”.

“The next day he argued with his partner at her home on Garside Avenue and decided to leave,” he said. “He made the unwise decision to borrow a car from a friend and drove the short distance to his home on Martyn Avenue.

“There's no escaping the fact he has a history of similar offending. There has been a break in his offending.

“There has been a change in his attitude and an acceptance there is a problem with drink and motor vehicles.”

Stokes had been fined and sentenced to unpaid work and imprisonment in the past, Mr Stocks said.

“It seems to me the public interest is best served if the root cause of his offending is tackled,” he said. “The root cause in this case is excessive alcohol consumption."

Sentencing, magistrates said Stokes’s record was “horrendous” and a 14-week prison sentence was only suspended for 18 months because he admitted his drink problem.

Stokes must also carry out a six-month alcohol-treatment programme and 100 hours of unpaid work.

He was banned from driving for six-and-a-half years, but a rehabilitation course will reduce that by a quarter if he successfully completes it. He was ordered to pay a £154 surcharge and £85 costs.