Ban for Selby drink driver (From York Press)

Drink driver Liam Kilcommons receives 14 month ban

9:02am Saturday 5th May 2012 in Selby & Tadcaster By Dan Bean, dan.bean@thepress.co.uk

A supermarket manager who tried to trick police officers in fear of being caught drink-driving has been banned from the wheel for 14 months.

Selby Magistrates’ Court heard Liam Kilcommons, who works at the Sainsbury’s supermarket in Abbey Walk, Selby, moved into the back seat of his Audi A3 in an attempt to convince police his girlfriend was driving the vehicle.

The court heard officers were patrolling Flaxley Road at about 3.25am on Saturday, April 14, when the Audi, which they noted was being driven by “a spiky-haired male”, failed to give way to their vehicle, but when they pulled the vehicle over in nearby Coupland Road, Kilcommons, 22, was in the back seat.

Sandra White, prosecuting, said that when challenged by officers the female driver, who was not named in court but described as his girlfriend, immediately said she had swapped places with him.

Kilcommons then admitted responsibility, and agreed to a roadside breath test which showed he was one-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive limit. His breath test reading was 57mg per 100ml, the legal limit is 35mg per 100ml.

Richard Minion, mitigating, told the court Kilcommons, of Rosewoods, Howden, had just been promoted to manager of a Sainsbury’s store in Hull, after training with the company for a year, but is now working in Selby, and will be working night shifts on lower pay for the forseeable future after losing his licence.

Mr Minion told the court Kilcommons “hardly ever drinks alcohol”, but had been consoling a friend who had just broken up with his partner, and had waited three hours before getting into the car after his last drink, believing that would be sufficient time for his alcohol level to fall.

Sentencing Kilcommons, Ian Franks told him: “It is always unfortunate when someone of previous good character comes before us for such an offence, and it doesn’t make the matter any easier by the initial deception you tried with the police officer.”

Kilcommons who had pleaded guilty to drink-driving was disqualified from driving for 14 months, fined £190, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £15 and prosecution costs of £85.