A NORTH Cumbrian motorist suspected of drink driving said he collided with a parked car because he swerved to avoid a cat in the road.

Robbie McDonald, 36, who had consumed only one pint before the crash, then drove to his brother’s home in north Carlisle and had more to drink and this was why he refused to provide police with a breath specimen, the court heard.

At the city’s Rickergate court, the defendant, a delivery driver, of Eden Mount, Rockcliffe, admitted having no valid reason for failing to provide a breath specimen.

Prosecutor Pam Ward said police became involved when they were asked to trace a van which had collided with a parked car at Brackenridge, Belah, on July 9. The collision left both vehicles with “substantial damage.”

The van's driver was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, said Mrs Ward. Police traced McDonald to his brother’s home in Lowry Gardens, Carlisle.

When the police arrived, the brother told the officers that the defendant had arrived 20 minutes earlier and that they had been drinking. When the officers approached McDonald, he immediately became aggressive.

“He would not answer questions,” said Mrs Ward. He also said he had not driven the van that night and refused to provide a breath specimen. He also became increasingly hostile, said Mrs Ward, and officers had to handcuff him.

When he was searched, McDonald was found to be carrying a set of keys with a registration number that matched the van involved in the accident.

Chris Toms, defending, said the defendant had picked up his brother that night and while driving back to his Lowry Gardens address, he had to swerve to avoid a cat in the road and this was how the accident happened.

“He then left the scene,” said Mr Toms.

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“They went to his brother’s house, and it was while there that he consumed alcohol. The police attended and he felt they were not giving sufficient weight to the fact that it was after the accident that he had been drinking."

An earlier experience with the police had left McDonald with a “bad taste in his mouth,” said the lawyer. The defendant was unaware that the breath test procedure could not have to be delayed for the suspect to get legal advice.

“He genuinely thought that because he had been drinking after the event, it wasn’t necessary for him to provide a breath specimen.

“But he accepts that he failed to provide a specimen and he accepts that the law is as it is but at the time he didn’t know that was the procedure.”

A probation worker who interviewed McDonald said he reported having consumed only one pint before the accident and he had not understood his obligation to give a breath test when one was asked for.

He feared that the test – after his post-accident drinking – would inaccurately suggest  he was over the limit when the accident happened.

Magistrates imposed a £200 fine with £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge. McDonald was given a 24-month driving ban but offered a rehabilitation course which will cut the length of the ban by 24 weeks if completed by a deadline.

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