Drink-drive arrest after fight with pal

Clare Barclay, prosecuting, said that officers caught up with 25-year-old Luke Saunders, of The Nightingales, after they received information that he had left an address in Newbury in a van and that he had been drinking.
When police arrested him, they also found a small amount of the Class A drug cocaine, the court heard.
Defending, Mike Davis said that Mr Saunders had headed into Newbury town centre with a friend and consumed about two pints of beer before going back to the friend’s house.
Mr Davis continued: “The plan was that he was going to stay for the night with a friend and brought some takeaway beer to consume there.
“However, there was an argument between the two which became quite heated and with some violence involved and the defendant decided to go home.
“It appears someone at the house decided to call the police. In the course of his arrest a small amount of cocaine was found but this was for personal use. He is an occasional user.
“There is a genuine sense of disappointment that he finds himself back before the courts after a little gap. He senses that he has let a lot of people down, including himself.”
Tests showed 51mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath in his system. The legal limit is 35mcg.
The court heard that Mr Saunders had previous convictions for drug-related offences, but had made efforts to turn his life around, recently becoming a self-employed delivery driver.
Mr Saunders admitted driving a Mercedes Sprinter van after drinking more than the legal limit and being in possession of a Class A drug, both on Greenham Road on September 6 this year.
Magistrates banned him from driving for 15 months and fined him £100.
For the drug offence, Mr Saunders was fined £50, with £30 costs and a £20 statutory charge.