"You're in the hall of fame for high readings"

Tuesday 06 October 2020

A 38-year-old man has been sentenced to nine weeks in prison by the Magistrate's Court, after driving whilst more than three times over the limit.

It was around 18:00 on 13 August when a member of the public noticed Matthew Blumsom driving erratically.

The witness was concerned and followed him to his address, before calling the police.

Officers attended his home shortly afterwards and spoke to the defendant, who denied drink driving at first, claiming he had drunk a few vodkas since returning to the property. When asked to identify a specific bottle, he took an empty vodka bottle out of the recycling and told the officers he had drunk all of it.

However, the officers noticed that the car engine was still warm.

Pictured: The defendant was sentenced in the Magistrate's Court.

Blumsom carried out a breath test, which came back with a reading of 128mcg in 100ml of breath - the legal limit is 35mcg.

He later said he had actually drunk five or six pints of cider and five or six double vodkas before getting in his car.

In his defence, Advocate Sara Mallett said the defendant hadn't been before the court since he was 20-years-old.

She said he was a "hardworking man" who had suffered "financial pressures, work pressures and family pressures" while the island was in lockdown, during which time his drinking had increased.

Pictured: The defendant was sentenced to nine weeks in prison. 

She explained to the Court how the charges had impacted her client; the defendant had been self-employed, but had started searching for a new job.

"A driving licence is essential for him to continue as a sole trader, so he has wound up his business," she said.

Blumsom has no previous convictions of a similar nature.

"Whilst not at the highest reading this court has ever seen, you are at the point of making the hall of fame of high readings," Judge Graeme McKerrell told him. "Or maybe the hall of infamy.

"There is not an excuse for driving with so much alcohol in your system."

As well as being handed a nine week prison sentence, Blumsom was disqualified from driving for three years and five months.