A terminally ill man gets 3 year driving ban

A 54-year-old man has received a 3 year driving ban for one of the worst drink driving incidents so early in the morning ever seen by police.

Patrick Hanratty however is terminally ill with Cirrhosis of the liver, and so would be very unlikely to be completing the ban however long it was Blackburn Magistrates were told.

Graham Parkinson, defending, requested that as Mr Hanratty was on the last few months of his life that a fine would a more appropriate punishment.

"He is not fit to do unpaid work and there is little point in probation intervention."

Mr Hanratty, of Great Harwood was given a £250 fine and a 3 year ban after pleading guilty to driving with excess alcohol and without due care and attention.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said Claire Waddington was driving on Blackburn Old Road heading out of Great Harwood at about 8.20 am when she noticed a blue Peugeot behind her.

It kept getting close up behind her and then dropping back before eventually pulling out to overtake.

Mrs Waddington said that it was a damp, foggy morning and she could not believe the vehicle was going to attempt the overtaking manoeuvre as they were approaching a blind spot on the road.

The car overtook herself and two other vehicles before forcing an oncoming Mercedes to swerve to avoid colliding.

The blue Peugeot then mounted a kerb and went along a banking, demolishing as it went a hedge as well as several saplings before finding the road once more.

As Miss Waddington followed the blue Peugeot the three miles towards Blackburn she said there was foul smell coming from the car and she could clearly see the front wheel had been damaged.

Miss Waddington followed the Peugeot to Perry's in Whalley New Road where Hanratty was eventually arrested having given a breathalyser reading of 77 ( the legal limit is 35). Later it was revealed that Hanratty had asked staff at the garage to "have a look at" his car because it "wasn't driving right." They estimated it would cost £5,000 to repair.

Police said they believed the case represented one of the worst they had ever seen with regards to someone being over the limit that early in the morning.

Mr Parkinson told the court Hanratty had a long-standing alcohol problem but had always kept drinking and driving apart. The evening prior to the incident Hanratty had drunk four cans of lager at home. The following morning his daughter has called on the phone, she was extremely distressed and asking for his help.

"He thought he was OK to drive and I am sure that if you or I had drunk that amount of alcohol the night before we would have been," said Mr Parkinson. "Unfortunately, his liver is in such a poor state it takes longer for the alcohol to dissipate through the system."

Friday 13th June 2008

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http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/2341079.threeyear_driving_ban