Worksop drink driver got lost when he went to buy cigarettes

A driver with a provisional licence who was caught over the limit had only popped out in Worksop to buy cigarettes, magistrates heard.
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But Gheorghe Goldar’s blue Saab was stopped outside Carburton, some four miles from his home, after police received reports of “erratic driving”, at 9.20pm on September 7.

A breath test revealed he had 94 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, while the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

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Donna Pursglove, mitigating, said Goldar, who had no previous convictions, admitted drinking earlier in the day and didn’t realise he would be so far over the limit.

“He had gone to purchase cigarettes,” she said. “He works in a sandwich factory earning £1,200 per month. He has no family in England. He hopes to continue working.”

Probation officer Mark Burton said: “I’m none the wiser as to why he was driving at that particular time. There were plenty of places he could have bought cigarettes from.

“I can only surmise that he was too intoxicated and didn’t really know where he was.”

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The court heard Goldar had been drinking more than usual after a three-month relationship ended.

Goldar, 38, of Lowtown Close, Worksop, admitted drink driving and driving without the correct licence, via a Romanian interpreter, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Friday.

He was banned for 25 months, but was offered a drink drive rehabilitation course, which will reduce the disqualification by 190 days if completed by February 2020.

A 12 month community order was imposed with 100 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £85 court costs and an £85 government surcharge.

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