Ex-signalman drunkenly tried to flee police at 70mph in Bilsthorpe
A former railway signalman who drunkenly tried to outrun police in Bilsthorpe has realised his drinking days have reached the end of the line, a court heard.
Officers spotted Sailas Mwando pull out onto Old Rufford Road and swerve towards the central line in the early hours of August 22, Grace Turner, prosecuting, said.
When they activated their blue lights he sped off, reaching 70mph in a 30mph zone, before coming to a stop five minutes later.
Checks showed he was disqualified and a breath test revealed he had 85 microgrammes of alcohol when the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
The court heard he has 13 previous convictions for 20 offences and was last in trouble in September 2023 for drink driving when he was banned for 46 months.
Megan Wright, mitigating, said Mwando deserved full credit for his guilty pleas and is “deeply remorseful and ashamed”.
“When he abstains from alcohol he isn't in trouble but when he relapses it unfortunately lands him where he is today,” she said.
“He has realised this is the final straw. He has had to get a new job he can walk to in the village where he lives.
“His drinking has cost him relationships and a job he held as a signalman for Network Rail since the age of 17,” she added. "This is a tornado effect throughout his life. He can work with the probation service.”
Mwando, aged 49, of Colliery Way, Bilsthorpe, admitted dangerous driving, drink driving, and driving without insurance and while disqualified, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on August 24.
On Thursday, October 14, District Judge Sunil Khanna told him: "This was an appalling example of driving. This sort of offence clearly passes the custody threshold.
"You clearly have a serious problem with drinking and driving.
“Had you come before me a year ago you would have been going to prison.”
On Thursday Mwando received a ten month sentence, suspended for 12 months, with probation appointments, a 120-day alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirement, and 100 hours of unpaid work.
He was banned from driving for five years and ordered to pay a £187 surcharge and £85 costs.