A drink-driving cabbie has been banned for 22 months after a mum and her children got into his taxi – and found him sitting behind the wheel in his boxer shorts. Geoffrey Thomas Albery, 69, had no trousers on when the woman and her kids got into his VW Passat in an Aldi in Barrow, Cumbria, on August 23rd.
South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court heard he denied being drunk but passersby took his keys so he could not drive away – and when police arrived he was found to be almost three times over the limit. Magistrates fined Albery £211 and disqualified him from driving for a period of 22 months.
However, he was offered the opportunity to complete a drink driving rehabilitation course, which if completed successfully, would reduce the length of ban by 22 weeks.
In addition, he was ordered to pay an £84 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.
Magistrates heard a member of the public saw the Volkswagen Passat was “parked funny” in Aldi car park on Risedale Road, Barrow, on the evening of 23rd August.
Prosecutor Lee Dacre said they also noticed the vehicle had a flat tyre and told a woman she should not get in the vehicle with her children.
She ignored the advice and instead got into Albery’s taxi – but when she saw he was sat behind the driver’s seat wearing only his boxer shorts, she quickly got out and ran away from the scene with her kids in tow.
Mr Dacre said Albery denied he was drunk when the passerby questioned him, but they felt the need to remove the car keys from him so he couldn’t drive off.
Cumbria Police arrived at the scene and Albery was arrested after providing a positive breathalyser test at the roadside of 94 micrograms in 100 millilitres of breath.
The court heard this level had dropped to 86 micrograms in police custody. The legal limit is 35.
In mitigation, duty solicitor Karen Templeton said: “He would like to apologise to the court. This was out of character for him.
“It was Saturday evening. He had been watching the football and was wearing a T-Shirt and shorts. He had been having a drink at home when he fell asleep.
“When he woke up, he was disorientated. He thought it was the following morning when it was 7:20pm that evening. He was compliant with police and admitted the offence in police interview.
“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. It is going to be difficult at his age to get any more work. There are a lot of consequences for him.”
