A man who drove after drinking to rescue his daughter from “killer clowns” has been banned from the road for four years.
Daniel Hood, of Glenside Road in Edgerton , was more than three times over the legal limit when he got behind the wheel in the early hours of October 15.
He was lucky to escape jail after Kirklees magistrates heard that he had three previous drink-driving convictions.
At a previous hearing magistrates were told that the 40-year-old had received a call from his daughter begging him to come and collect her.
The Huddersfield court heard that she was upset as men in clown outfits were out frightening people.
Police were already in the Birkby area when their Hood’s Skoda caught their attention at around 3am.
His vehicle veered across the traffic lanes as he headed onto Willow Lane.
Prosecutor Andy Wills explained that Hood stopped at some traffic lights but when the lights changed his vehicle rolled backwards, narrowly missing hitting the police car behind him.
He stopped his car and the officers went to speak with him, immediately smelling alcohol on his breath.
Hood was arrested after failing a roadside test and further breath tests showed that he had 110 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
This is more than three times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.
Hood had three previous convictions for drink-driving from November 2004, 2007 and 2013.
He claimed that he’d only had one drink of brandy before driving to pick his daughter up and that his medication must have affected his reading.
Hood had been due to stand trial but then changed his plea to guilty on advice after failing to obtain a forensic report.
His solicitor Ian Whiteley told a hearing earlier this month that Hood’s daughter was out celebrating her birthday when she called him in fear.
He said: “He received a call from his daughter who told him that there were these guys in clown outfits out frightening people.”
The incident happened when the so-called “killer clown” craze was in full swing across the country.
Members of the public were left terrified by pranksters dressed in scary outfits.
WATCH: mum Leah Newton describe how a knife-wielding clown tried to take her baby
Magistrates sentenced Hood to 12 weeks in custody, suspended for a year.
He must carry out 80 hours of unpaid work and complete six months of alcohol treatment.
Hood was banned from driving for 48 months and ordered to pay £85 costs and £115 victim surcharge.
