Pensioner and taxi driver Geoffrey Thomas Albery was fined and disqualified from driving after being found behind the wheel while over the legal alcohol limit and wearing "only his boxer shorts," a court heard.
The incident occurred on the evening of August 23 in the Aldi Car Park on Risedale Road in Barrow.
A member of the public noticed Albery's Volkswagen Passat was “parked funny” with a flat tyre. Despite being warned not to, a woman and her children entered the vehicle for a fare.
Prosecutor Lee Dacre stated that when the woman saw the 69-year-old “sat behind the driver’s seat wearing only his boxer shorts, she quickly got out and ran away from the scene with her children.”
A witness, who questioned Albery, felt the need to remove his keys to prevent him from driving off.
Albery was arrested after a roadside breathalyser test showed 94 micrograms in 100 millilitres of breath (the legal limit is 35), which later dropped to 86 micrograms in police custody.
Duty solicitor Karem Templeton offered mitigation, saying Albery “would like to apologise to the court. This was out of character for him.”
She explained that he had been watching football and drinking at home before falling asleep. “When he woke up, he was disorientated. He thought it was the following morning when it was 7:20pm that evening.”
Ms Templeton also noted the consequences: “He was working as a taxi driver. He has since lost his job and given up his licence as a taxi driver to the council.”
Magistrates fined Albery £211 and imposed a driving disqualification of 22 months, though he can reduce the ban by 22 weeks by completing a drink-driving rehabilitation course.
He was also ordered to pay an £84 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.
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