South Yorkshire drink-drive engineer on HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier spared jail

Sheffield Magistrates’ Court heard on March 19 how Anthony Wood, 49, of Spencer Drive, Ravenfeld, Rotherham, had been drinking lager and vodka the night before the morning he took to the road and was involved in a collision with another car.

Robert Coyne, prosecuting, said Wood registered 112 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath when the limit is 35 microgrammes and he has a previous conviction for drink-driving.

The probation service stated Wood had been drinking lager and vodka the night before February 8 when he chose to drive to a Screw Fix store and was approaching a left hand turn and made contact with an oncoming vehicle.

Wood works for Chesterfield Cylinders as an engineer and is working on the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier in Portsmouth, according to the probation service.

The probation service stated that Wood claims he has abstained from drinking and he is not allowed to drink while working at a naval base.

Wood pleaded guilty to exceeding the drink-drive limit on Moorfield Road, Ravenfeld, Rotherham.

Mike Jones, defending, said Wood has struggled with the loss of his father and his father-in-law and had drunk at home and thought he would be okay to drive the next morning.

Magistrates sentenced Wood to eight weeks of custody suspended for 18 months with a ten-week curfew. He must pay £85 costs and a £122 victim surcharge. Wood was banned from driving for four years.