Man found passed out in driver’s seat jailed for drink driving

A man has been jailed for drink driving over the Bank Holiday weekend after being found passed out in the driver’s seat.

Steven Whatmore, 40, of Ferndown Close, Basingstoke, pleaded guilty yesterday (29/05) at Swindon Magistrates’ Court after being remanded in custody.

On Saturday afternoon, police received reports of a Transit van being driven erratically on the A303 near Willoughby Hedge, with concerns the driver may be intoxicated.

Police then received a further report a short time later after the vehicle crashed into a fence on Ivy Place, Salisbury, where it suffered damage and a punctured tyre before making off from the scene.

Officers from Team 5 Amesbury and Salisbury immediately went to the area to search for the vehicle.

A further report was then received that the van was had been seen on Phillips Lane, weaving over the road and that the tyre was completely shredded and had come off.

Officers then located the van in Beehive Park and Ride, with Whatmore, a disqualified driver, found passed out in the driver’s seat.

After failing a breath test, he was taken to custody where he provided a breath sample that was more three times the drink drive limit.

Whatmore was charged with drink driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, careless driving, and using a vehicle in a dangerous condition.

He pleaded guilty to all offences and was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison and banned from driving for four-and-a-half years.