Lorry driver caught out after drinking on ferry
A LORRY DRIVER caught out by a schedule change while on board Condor has been landed with a drink-drive conviction after moving just 300m from the ferry to park in a lay-by at the harbour.
In the Magistrate’s Court, Marc Smith, 58, of 47, Coronation Way, Kidderminster, was fined £300 and banned from driving in Guernsey for 12 months.
He had admitted drink-driving, but argued there were special reasons for what happened.
Smith, who has been delivering goods to Guernsey regularly for two years, was given complimentary food and drinks, including steak and chips as well as three glasses of wine, when he was travelling on the Condor freight ferry on 5 December. He had boarded the freight ship at 6.30pm and had been expecting to disembark in Guernsey after 8am the next day.
However, while he was watching the 10pm news in the drivers’ mess, a member of Condor staff told him the boat had been rescheduled and would be going to Guernsey first due to the tides – it docked at about 3am.
Police were tipped off by someone that a heavy goods driver aboard could have been drinking and they went to the harbour.
In evidence, Smith said he felt fine to drive and had taken the lorry only from the boat to the lay-by on the White Rock. But he also said he felt obliged to move the lorry off the ferry.
Full story in today's Guernsey Press
