Shropshire Star

Drink driver in Oswestry collision is given road ban

A driver was more than twice the drink-drive limit when he clipped a passing car in Oswestry in a work minibus, a court has heard.

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Daniel Valena, a Czech national, had been living in the Lord Moreton Hotel in Chirk for three months while on a work placement which a Czech company based in the town.

The court heard that Valena, who pleaded guilty to drink driving, had been drinking in the hotel when he took the work minibus into Oswestry.

He was seen on the Gobowen Road by two people driving in convoy in the opposite direction, who reported he had his full beam lights on and was encroaching on the wrong side of the road.

Abigail Hall, prosecuting, said the female driver of the first car was able to swerve to avoid the minibus, but it hit the wing mirror and scraped the side of the car behind.

The male driver turned his car around and followed the minibus to the Iceland car park on Oswald Road, where he called the police.

A blood test at Shrewsbury Police Station at 12.15am on Sunday morning showed Valena to have 88 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 litres of breath, more than twice the legal limit of 35.

Defending, Andrew Holland said 23-year-old Valena had no previous convictions and had just completed his period of work and would be returning to the Czech Republic next week.

District Judge Nigel Cadbury banned him from driving for 20 months and ordered him to pay a fine of £400, as well as costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £40.