Port Erin man banned from roads after driving while drunk

Former soldier also given suspended prison sentence

A former soldier from Port Erin has been banned from the roads for more than five years after defying a driving ban and getting behind the wheel drunk.

Fifty-one-year-old Andrew John Gregory of Fairy Hill Close appeared before magistrates at Douglas courthouse.

He'd pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified at a previous hearing, not guilty to drink-driving before being convicted after a trial.

Prosecution advocate Rebecca Cubbon told the court Gregory had been convicted of drink-driving in 2018 and banned from the roads for two years after a crash in a supermarket car park.

On 3 August last year, a neighbour rang police to tell them they'd seen Gregory get into a silver Hyundai Coupe and drive off – officers arrived to find the vehicle missing.

When they returned later, the car was back and the Noble’s Hospital electrician was drunk but denied driving despite being unable to explain the car’s absence.

A breath test showed he was one and a half times over the limit.

Defence advocate Laurence Vaughan-Williams said his client suffered amnesia and suspected post-traumatic stress disorder, although he had no medical evidence to support the claims.

Magistrates jailed Gregory for six months, suspended for two years, and banned him from driving for 66 months as well as ordering him to pay £1,895 towards prosecution costs.