Peterborough drink driver was more than three times the limit after downing beer, whiskey and vodka

Romans Zigalins was more than three times over the drink drive limit when he was stopped by police in Park Road, Peterborough on September 2 this year.

Today he appeared at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court where he was given a suspended jail sentence by District Judge Ken Sheraton.

Giles Beaumont, prosecuting, told the court: “At 3.40am officers stopped the Ford vehicle as it was travelling slowly, and ‘wandering’ in the lane.

“There was a passenger in the vehicle, and Zigalins gave a positive roadside breath test.”

The court was told when he was taken to Thorpe Wood Police Station, where he gave a reading of 124 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

The court was told factory worker Zigalins (33) of Alexandra Road, Peterborough, had finished work at 6pm, and gone home, where he started drinking with his partner and two friends at 8pm.

He said he had four cans of beer, a double whiskey and five or six shots of vodka when his friends left at 3am.

He and his partner wanted to carry on drinking, so he tried to call a taxi to take him to an off licence - but his phone had ran out of battery, so he decided to drive.

In a probation report, Zigalins said at the time he thought he was a ‘five’ on a scale of one to ten of drunkenness, and ‘he did not feel unsteady.’

The court heard he had no previous convictions, and a clean driving licence. He pleaded guilty to drink driving at a previous hearing.

Judge Ken Sheraton, sentencing, said: “Your reading was well over three times the permitted limit.

“This is made worse because you had a passenger in the vehicle.

“However slowly you were driving, you were a danger to other road users.

“However, given your guilty plea, and the fact you have no previous convictions, I am prepared to suspend the sentence.”

Zigalins was given an eight week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, take part in a rehabilitation activity requirement, and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. He was also banned from driving for 30 months, and ordered to pay £85 costs and a victim surcharge of £115.