Driver was five times limit

9:46am Tuesday 20th May 2008

A MOTORIST branded Bolton's worst drink-driver after being caught five times over the limit has been spared jail.

Michael Watson, aged 33, of Mere Gardens, Bolton, tried to drive away in his girlfriend's car after binging on beer and vodka following a row.

But he was too drunk, ditched the car and minutes later police discovered him slumped in a back street.

He appeared before Bolton magistrates yesterday when he was sentenced to five months in jail, suspended over 18 months.

Superintendent Alan Greene, head of road policing for Greater Manchester Police, said he had not heard of a worse case of drink driving in the area.

Watson, who pleaded guilty to drink driving, taking a vehicle without consent and driving without insurance, gave a reading of 176mg of alcohol in his blood when he was tested by police.

The legal limit for driving is 35mg.

Supt Greene said: "There may be cases of people being caught with more than 176mg of alcohol in their system while behind the wheel, but I am not aware of any in Greater Manchester.

"You should be passing out at that level of intoxication. It is incredibly dangerous."

The court heard that Watson had turned up at the home of his girlfriend, Hannah Sutcliffe, in Mansfield Grove, Bolton, on February 16.

Glenn Anderton, prosecuting, said the pair had a "rocky relationship," made worse by Watson's drinking.

When he first arrived in the morning, he was drunk and demanding to get his passport, before he sat in her garden and started emptying her wheelie bin, the court heard.

She called police but he left, only to return again later at around 1.15pm. He texted Miss Sutcliffe, asking her where her car keys were and she realised the keys to her Fiat Punto were missing.

She then watched from an upstairs bedroom window as Watson tried to reverse her car onto the road.

Mr Anderton said: "It was very tight and there were a number of parked cars. He was having great difficulty getting out. He drove the car forwards and backwards a number of times and was revving the engine very loudly."

He gave up, got out of the car and walked away.

The whole incident was witnessed by Miss Sutcliffe and another neighbour, who spoke to the police around 15 minutes later.

Officers made a quick search of the area and found Watson sitting in a back street behind nearby Mellor Grove.

He was drinking from a soft drink bottle, which was found to contain 90 per cent vodka and 10 per cent blackcurrant juice.

The police said he was drunk and aggressive. He was arrested when police found he had Miss Sutcliffe's car key.

Watson initially denied drink-driving, saying he had just had a few beers and that the alcohol was in his system from the previous night.

However, he later changed his plea, said Joanne Tang, defending.

She said Watson did not cause any damage or hurt anybody and had tried to take the car to antagonise his girlfriend.

The court heard that Watson descended into alcohol abuse after he was jailed for assault in 1998, when he lost his job as a postman and could not find work when he came out of prison.

He also committed the offence after he was previously banned for 16 months for drink-driving in April last year.

Chairman of the bench Yusuf Ahmed Pate (CORR) said Watson's alcohol reading was "very high" and, in addition to the suspended sentence, banned him from driving for four years.

He ordered Watson to observe a curfew, between 8pm and 7am, for the next three months, and complete an 18-month supervision order.