Police catch driver four times over limit in Newton Aycliffe

During patrols on Monday (July 6) in Newton Aycliffe, police say they spotted the driver and branded the motorist “a fatal collision waiting to happen”.

After pulling him over, police say the man, a 49-year-old, blew a breath test of 160.

The legal limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

Police stop a driver on the roadside (Image: DURHAM CONSTABULARY)

He was arrested and charged with two counts of drink driving and remanded to court.

In a video shared by Durham Police, the police force used a series of football-related puns to bring home the severity of the situation.

The post read: “This is one guy who definitely wasn’t watching the match last night!

“Instead, he was sleeping off a skin-full after scoring a spectacular own-goal with a roadside breath test result of 160.

“Yes, you read that right, this 49-year-old was more than four times over the legal limit, ‘driving’ his Audi A5 in the middle of the road in Newton Aycliffe. We say ‘driving’ because quite frankly, with that much alcohol in his system, he was a fatal collision waiting to happen.

“Thankfully our Durham Roads & Armed Policing officers were on the ball as much as Bellingham last night and got this man stopped before he hurt anyone. He has now been charged with two counts of drink driving and remanded to court.

“This was the best outcome, but sadly some families aren’t so lucky, and our officers have had to tell them the horrendous news that their loved one isn’t coming home.”

Despite this shocking example, the police force did say they conducted random stop checks in Chester Moor on Monday, where everyone passed the roadside breath test.