Drunk Rainworth man borrowed mum's car and refused breath test

A Rainworth man was more than three times over the limit when he borrowed his mum's car for a short drive but refused a breath test afterwards, a court heard.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.Mansfield Magistrates Court.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.

Luke Whitworth’s stepfather told police what happened and officers found the 29-year-old asleep on his girlfriend’s sofa, on May 29.

“They were concerned he was disabled in some way, but it soon became apparent that he was drunk,” said prosecutor Robert Carr.

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A test showed he was more than three times over the limit, but when he was taken to the police station for the formal test, he refused to take it and “became confrontational.”

Whitworth, 29, of Vera Crescent, admitted failing to provide a specimen when he appeared before magistrates in Mansfield, on Thursday.

The court heard he had a 2016 conviction for producing cannabis, and the new offence put him in breach of an eight month sentence, suspended for two years, imposed at Nottingham Crown Court.

Zara Hussain, mitigating, said Whitworth, a dad of two, now works in a warehouse, but suffers from depression and anxiety.

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“He is somebody who has transformed his life from the sentence that was imposed on him. His current order is going well and he has come off the drugs gradually,” she said.

“It is very rare that he drinks. He had a long week at work and it was close to the Bank Holiday and so he decided to drink, but unfortunately got himself into a mess.”

Magistrates fined Whitworth £275 and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

He was banned from driving for two years, but he was offered a drink driver rehabilitation course which will reduce his disqualification by 182 days if completed by October 2018.

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