Court bans more Brighton and Hove drink drivers

More drink drivers from Brighton and Hove have been banned from being behind the wheel.

They were among 17 people sentenced at Brighton Magistrates’ Court for drink driving and related offences.

They included Gareth Maggs, 32, of Farm Road, Hove, who was arrested after crashing his van into an unmarked police car just off Western Road.

Maggs, who was arrested after the crash just yards from his home on Sunday 15 December, pleaded guilty to drink driving. He was fined £250, ordered to pay £85 costs and banned from driving for a year.

Douglas Ancell, 34, of Hillside Way, Brighton, pleaded guilty to drink driving and was given a 12-week suspended prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and banned from driving for 30 months.

Ancell was arrested in Carden Avenue, Brighton, on Saturday 7 December after officers stopped a car being driven in the dark without its lights on.

Kevin Adams, 58, of Thorndean Road, Moulsecoomb, admitted drink driving and driving without a licence having been arrested in Old Steine, Brighton, at a police stop check on Tuesday 17 December.

He was fined £110, ordered to pay £85 costs and banned from driving for 20 months.

Sadie Bradford, 22, of Orchard Road, Hove, admitted failing to provide a specimen for analysis on Wednesday 18 December.

Bradford was arrested after police were called to her address. She was fined £100, ordered to pay £85 costs and given 10 points on her licence.

Mark Bott, 29, also of Orchard Road, Hove, also admitted failing to provide a specimen and breaching a suspended sentence.

Bott was arrested in a car park in Hove on Wednesday 18 December. He was fined £100, ordered to pay £85 costs, made the subject of a 12-month community order and given 10 points on his licence.

Michael Griffin, 49, of Westbourne Villas, Hove, pleaded guilty to drink driving. Griffin was arrested on Friday 21 December after officers saw a car being driven erratically in Hove.

He was fined £110, ordered to pay £85 costs and banned from driving for 17 months.

Elizabeth Moore, 27, of Downsview Road, Seaford, pleaded guilty to drink-driving. She was fined £110, ordered to pay £85 costs and banned from driving for a year.

Moore was arrested shortly on Thursday 5 December after officers stopped a car in South Coast Road, Telscombe Cliffs.

They were among 17 more people convicted of drink-related driving offences as part of the annual Sussex Police Christmas crackdown.

The convictions mean that a total of 45 people have now been dealt with by the courts as part of the drink campaign.

Chief Inspector Natalie Moloney said: “Although the majority of those convicted have been for drink driving offences, a number have also been dealt with for refusing to be breathalysed after they were stopped.

“If you think you can avoid a driving conviction by not being breathalysed, think again. We will prosecute you and you will be punished.”