Drink-drive inspector given ban

Insp Cropper had previously been cleared of the same offence

A senior police officer who drove to work while almost three times the legal alcohol limit has been banned from driving for three years.

Insp Christopher Cropper, 49, smelt of beer when he arrived at Stockport police station in Greater Manchester.

His colleagues took a reading of 101 microgrammes of alcohol in his breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Cropper, from Bowdon in Gtr Manchester, pleaded guilty to drink-driving at Bolton Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

He was not present for the hearing but instructed his solicitor, Nick Holroyd, to enter a guilty plea on his behalf.

Lager cans

The magistrate banned him for 36 months and fined him £900 for drink-driving, and ordered him to pay £300 costs.

Chairwoman of the bench, Gillian Knowles, said the offence, committed by a man of Cropper's standing, could not be taken lightly.

The court was told that Cropper, from Altrincham, had been suffering from depression and alcoholism, preventing him from appearing at court.

Mr Holroyd said his marriage had broken up, his father had died and he had twice tried to commit suicide in the last year.

Mark France, prosecuting, said an officer found cans of lager in his car which had been parked at the back of Stockport police station on 20 January 2005.

Officer suspended

The court was told that Cropper had no current endorsements on his driving licence and no previous convictions for drink-driving.

In December 2004, he had been cleared of the same offence after celebrity lawyer Nick Freeman exposed errors in the police investigation.

A spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said Cropper was currently suspended from duty.

She said: "Following the conviction, the Internal Affairs Branch will now consider whether Cropper will face an internal misconduct tribunal."