A DRUNK motorist who was found in his stationary vehicle after it ran into a roadside ditch told magistrates: "You'll never see me in Carlisle again."

Jamie Carroll, 39, whose vehicle was towing a generator, took a roadside breath test which indicated he was more than four times the alcohol limit.

He then refused to take a second "evidential" test at the city's Durranhill Police HQ. At Carlisle’s Rickergate court, he pleaded guilty to that offence.

Prosecutor George Shelley said the police were alerted by a 999 call from a member of the public on April 29 and officers arrived at the scene to find the defendant in the driver's seat of his  badly parked vehicle, appearing to be asleep.

“He had been described by the caller as being heavily intoxicated,” said Mr Shelley. “The officers approached to ascertain whether he was injured. The keys were still in the ignition.”

The defendant confirmed he was uninjured and appeared to be unaware that he had been in a road traffic accident, said Mr Shelley. “His speech was slurred and there was a strong smell of alcohol emanating from the vehicle.

"There were also cans of beer within the vehicle.”

A roadside breath test indicated that Carroll, of Moor Croft, Bingley, Bradford, had 148mcg of alcohol in every 100mls of breath. The legal limit for driving is 35mcg.

However, when he was in custody, Carroll became “very emotional,” at one point telling an officer to “shut up.” He then refused to take the evidential breath test.

A probation officer who interviewed the defendant said he was “full of remorse” and had been assessed as being a low risk of reoffending. He reported that on the day of the offence he had fallen out with his partner the previous evening over “something silly.”

During the covid lockdown, he had started drinking more, at one stage drinking every night of the week. He drank “to excess” on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Carroll talked about stress he had in his life, including his child undergoing treatment for a brain tumour.

“All of this impacted on his mental health,” said the officer. He has also lost his job as a result of the failing to provide a specimen offence that was before the court.

Defence lawyer Mark Shepherd said the defendant had repeatedly referred to his daughter throughout the whole police procedure. Carrol had now sought out help to deal with his alcohol consumption and had found a new job in the construction industry.

Magistrates noted the defendant’s difficult personal circumstances.

They imposed a 60 day alcohol monitoring requirement as part of a community order that includes 100 hours of unpaid work.  They banned Carroll for 29 months. He must pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

As the case concluded, he told magistrates: “I just want to say sorry. I brought shame on my family but we’re not bad people. I just don’t know why I did it and I’ll never know.

"I’ve learned my lesson. You'll never see me in Carlisle again."