Man, 75, tagged for drink-driving

James Benjamin Carney must wear an electronic tag

A 75-year-old man has been ordered to wear an electronic tag after being convicted of drink-driving.

James Benjamin Carney has been ordered by Flintshire magistrates to stay indoors between 2100 BST and 0700 BST for the next two months.

The pensioner will be fitted with an electronic tag on his leg so that his movements can be monitored.

He was breath-tested by police after twice hitting a Landrover outside an off-licence in Holywell on 12 August.

Prosecutor Robert Blakemore said that Carney, of Carmel, near Holywell, north Wales, struck a Landrover Discovery on two occasions as he tried to get out of his parking space.

He failed a breath test after police officers arrived.

Carney recorded 95 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath in the police test.

The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Guilty plea

Defending solicitor Stephen Mullarkey said that his client regarded himself as law-abiding.

The pensioner claimed that after gardening, he had two glasses of wine before driving to the off-licence.

But District Judge Andrew Shaw said that he did not accept that the defendant had only drunk two glasses of wine.

"There is no point beating about the bush," he said.

"You need to drink a considerable amount of alcohol to get to that reading."

But the judge said that he took into account Carney's guilty plea and that for the vast majority of his life the defendant had been "a thoroughly responsible and good citizen".

Carney told the judge: "I deeply apologise. It was a foolish and stupid thing to do."

He was also banned from driving for three years and ordered to pay costs of £55.

The court was told that Carney did not intend to drive again.