Dementia-hit driver in pub car park crash had five pints after mate’s …

Drink-driver Anthony Butters crashed into a pub car park wall. The 64-year-old had been to a funeral before he drove to The Talisman, in Tunstall ^[1], to meet friends.

But after drinking four pints he went to his car to drive home - and instead of reversing he went forward and knocked down the wall at a speed of less than 10mph.

Now dementia-hit Butters has been banned from the roads for three years and hit with a £331 court bill at North Staffordshire Justice Centre ^[2]. The crash happened at 5pm on June 16.

Prosecutor Emma Thompson said: "The police arrived and identified Butters with his vehicle. He provided a positive roadside breath test. At the police station he gave a reading of 72 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, against the legal limit of 35."

READ: Keele University worker performs sex act on sleeping man ^[3]

Butters told police that he had been to a funeral and had a pint. He then went to The Talisman and had a further four pints. It will cost £2,174 to repair the wall.

The Talisman pub, in Furlong Road, Tunstall

Butters, of Reynolds Road, Burslem ^[4], pleaded guilty to drink-driving. He has a previous conviction for drink-driving in 2015.

Iain Haley, mitigating, said Butters has early-onset dementia and is due to have tests at a memory clinic next week. He has now given up driving and has no intention of ever getting behind the wheel again.

Mr Haley added: "He had been to a friend's funeral. He consumed a pint of shandy and drove to The Talisman to meet other friends. He would not normally go out. He thought the car was in reverse, it was in forward, it touched a wall. The only damage his vehicle sustained was a scratch."

COURT AND CRIME NEWSLETTER: Sign up for email alerts direct to your inbox ^[5]

References

^{^} Tunstall (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^{^} North Staffordshire Justice Centre (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^{^} Keele University worker performs sex act on sleeping man (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^{^} Burslem (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^{^} COURT AND CRIME NEWSLETTER: Sign up for email alerts direct to your inbox (data.reachplc.com)