Drunk bus driver chased youths through Mansfield Woodhouse for giving him the finger
A bus driver was drunk when he chased two youths through Mansfield Woodhouse in his car for giving him the finger, a court has heard.
Witnesses saw Joel Anthony in the driver's seat of a Vauxhall Astra, shouting at the "petrified" children whom he blamed for smashing his car window, at 7.30pm on April 10.
Declan Austin, prosecuting, said a child shouted: "He is drunk. He's had some Famous Grouse whisky."
Anthony was challenged about his behaviour and he drove off, but police confronted him at home. He initially refused the breath test but a later reading showed he had 151 microgrammes of alcohol when the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
Philip Morris, mitigating, said Anthony, who has no previous convictions, drove less than half a mile to and from his home.
He said Anthony and his family had experienced “overt racism” after moving to Mansfield from London and his car had been vandalised twice in the fortnight before the incident.
“Two youths stood on his doorstep, gave him the finger and ran off,” Mr Morris said. “He lost his temper. He got into his car to chase them and speak to their parents about their behaviour.
“To some extent he came to his senses and didn't seek to extend that confrontation further. The police were informed.”
He said Anthony’s level of unhappiness had already “placed him on the brink of dismissal from work”, and he has since lost his job.
"The reason for the move was they found it far too difficult to survive economically in London,” he said. “This is very much the last kick in the teeth, self-inflicted so to speak.
“He had been at the end of his tether as a result of being targeted. He is utterly terrified at the prospect of custody.”
A probation officer said Anthony’s problems with alcohol pre-dated his arrival in Mansfield and he was facing financial pressures as well.
Anthony, aged 40, of Park Street, Mansfield Woodhouse, admitted drink driving when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Tuesday.
“It is a massively high reading and you were driving with your back car door open,” the presiding magistrate told him.
He received 12 weeks, suspended for 12 months, with a six-month alcohol treatment requirement and five rehabilitation days. He was disqualified for three years.