Blind man sentenced for 150-mile drive while drunk

A blind motorist who took his partner's car and drove for 150 miles (240km) at night while drunk has been handed a suspended sentence.

Anthony Hall, 50, who does not have a driving licence, was stopped by police on the M6 near Carlisle at 01:45 BST on 29 June after he was seen swerving the Vauxhall Meriva between lanes and onto the hard shoulder, a court was told.

Hall told police he had driven from his home in Huddersfield after he and his partner had drunk four bottles of wine.

Kirklees Magistrates' Court heard Hall, of Lees Close, had admitted charges including dangerous driving at a previous hearing and was sentenced on Tuesday to 36 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months.

Hall had also admitted drink-driving, driving without a licence or insurance and taking a car without consent.

The court heard that in the early hours of 29 June, police received information there was a driver on the M6 northbound who was under the influence and was blind.

Hall was pulled over by a police officer after the Vauxhall was seen swerving near junction 42.

The officer who stopped Hall could smell alcohol on his breath and, when asked about this, the 50-year-old said he and his partner had drunk wine.

Hall told the officer he had gone blind about two years ago but could see some lights and he explained that while on the motorway he had followed an HGV's lights.

The distance Hall had travelled was about 150 miles and he had taken the car from his partner without permission, according to police.

When he was breathalysed at the side of the road, Hall gave a reading of 50 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

At a police station later, he gave a reading of 46 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

The drink-drive limit in England and Wales is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

Hall told police he had planned to drive to Scotland and wanted to escape his home, his relationship and his finances.

The court heard he had stopped for fuel at an unknown location where an attendant had filled up his car.

No-one was injured during the incident.

In mitigation, Adele Graham said her client had no previous convictions and he had suffered a breakdown before setting off on the journey.

Hall had felt trapped in his own home and wanted to get as far away from his life there as possible, she said.

"This was an individual in crisis making a poor decision while in crisis," she said.

Sentencing Hall, magistrate Tracey McErlain-Burns said Hall was of previous good character and had some difficult personal circumstances.

She explained that while the custody threshold had been crossed, she had decided to suspend any custodial sentence.

Hall was sentenced to 36 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months. Meanwhile, he was told he must carry out rehabilitation activities and abstain from alcohol for 90 days.

Hall was also disqualified from driving for 12 months even though he did not have a licence at the time of the incident, and he was ordered to pay £272 costs.

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