‘Knockout blow’ for drink driver in Bromsgrove - The Bromsgrove Standard

‘Knockout blow’ for drink driver in Bromsgrove

Bromsgrove Editorial 22nd May, 2015 Updated: 17th Oct, 2016   0

A BROMSGROVE man caught three and a half times the drink-drive limit after watching the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao world title fight was told he was lucky not to have killed someone.

Nicholas Watson, formally from the town but now of no fixed abode, appeared before Redditch Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (May 19) and pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol.

The court heard the 51-year-old, who owns a car dealership in Northfield, was stopped by police on Stoke Road just before 11am on May 3.

A breath test showed he had 129 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the limit it 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.




Defending, Mark Turnbull said it was the morning after one of the biggest boxing matches of the century.

He added Watson did not think he would still be drunk at that time of the morning and he also felt fine.


The court heard Watson had been steadily drinking at a slow pace over the course of the evening before the match.

Mr Turnbull said the defendant, who owns a number of businesses, lived in hotels because of the nature of his work.

He added on the morning after the match Watson has returned to his hotel to find there were no rooms and he needed to find accommodation elsewhere.

And it was during the drive to another hotel when he was pulled over by the police.

The court heard Watson had an alcohol dependency problem which had been ongoing for ten years. But, his defence said, he had been seeking help to address the issues.

Banning him from driving for three years, the chairman of the bench John Taylor said: “At this level of alcohol in your breath you were really risking it on health reasons alone.

“It is a very very serious offence, you could have killed someone.”

The magistrates handed Watson an 18-month community order with a rehabilitation requirement to complete 15 sessions of a drink impairment course.

He was also ordered to pay court charges of £150, a £60 victim surcharge and costs of £85.

Mr Taylor said if Watson was caught driving during this time he may well risk going to prison.

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