Coggeshall man banned from driving for being twice over the limit

Ullas Purushothamah, of Kings Acre, Coggeshall, appeared before magistrates on Tuesday where he faced one drink driving charge.

The court heard how Purushothamah, 40, had drunk “two or three glasses of whisky” when his wife asked him to run an errand.

As he made his way to the shops, he reversed his Honda Civic down Queen Street and crashed into a mini before he fessed up to hitting her car.

When he was given a breathalyzer test by attending police officers, he was found to have 70 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, which is twice the legal limit.

Purushothamah, who commutes to Braintree where he works as a carer, admitted the offence at Colchester Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

Jenny Bradbury, prosecuting, said: “Purushothamah crashed into a woman’s car and admitted drinking whisky.

“Officers spoke to the defendant and made full admission – he also admitted to having drunk whisky before driving previously.”

Raphael Piggot, defending, explained Purushothamah had no previous convictions, adding a driving ban would affect his work.

He said: “On the evening in question, he was at home and drank two or three glasses of whisky.

“His wife asked him to go to the shop and he felt fine to drive.

“He has not lived in the area long, and he could not get through the road he wanted to go down because it was a cul-de-sac.

“He backed up down the road and scraped a mini on one side.

“He stopped, got out and the owner of the vehicle he spoke to gave him his details.”

Police then attended and Purushothamah admitted the offence.

Mr Piggot explained a driving ban would affect his shifts at a care home in Braintree because of the lack of public transport links late at night saying Purushothamah "would accept the offer of a drink driving rehabilitation course."

However, chair of the bench Anthony Ealden gave Purushothamah a 20-month driving disqualification, and ordered him to pay £686 in costs.