A PENSIONER was hit with his first criminal conviction – after he drank a tot of whisky to settle his upset stomach before picking up his wife.
Malcolm Firth was only just over the legal drink-driving limit when he drove to collect his wife of 58 years.
Yesterday a district judge told the 78-year-old that he had great sympathy for his situation as in some force areas he would never have been prosecuted.
The Huddersfield court heard that Firth, of Hillside, Kirkheaton, was stopped as he drove from his home on March 21.
Police noticed that there was some damage to his Kia Rio and pulled Firth over to speak to him.
James Weekes, prosecuting, said: “The police officer stopped him to speak to him because of the damage.
“It was then that he thought he could smell alcohol on his breath and he was taken to the police station.”
Firth provided two samples of breath. The highest reading was 40 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. This was only just over the 35 microgrammes limit.
Because of the low reading, Firth was offered the chance to give a blood sample for tests but he declined this.
Deputy District Judge John Maxwell heard that prior to Firth’s admitted offence he had never been before the courts before.
Roger Clapham, mitigating, said on the day his client had taken his wife for a meal and drank a glass of wine.
He said that Firth – his wife’s carer as she suffers from Alzheimer’s – then dropped her off at the hairdressers.
As his stomach was unsettled he then drank a glass of whisky at home before going to pick up his wife.
Mr Clapham said: “This gentleman is 78 and he comes before the court for the first time in his life.
“He asks me to apologise to the court for the rather silly situation he’s got himself into. It’s a shame as he didn’t think he was over the limit. If he hadn’t had that glass of whisky he would have been OK.”
The judge gave Firth a conditional discharge for three months. However, he told him that he had no choice but to ban him from driving for a year.
