Daniel Jackson, 47, of Le Bouet, St Peter Port, had his chin resting on his chest and was leaning to one side when the police were notified at about 9pm one evening in July. An ambulance also attended and the defendant eventually regained consciousness but responded only by grumbling, and he was unsteady on his feet.
An evidential test at the Police Station following his arrest showed there were 89 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of his breath when the legal limit is 35.
While being booked in to custody he told officers that he should have got a lift home. He said he had argued with his partner in Town and had decided to sleep in the car.
He admitted being in charge of a motor vehicle while over the prescribed limit. The court was told he had two convictions for drink-driving in the UK for 2009 and 2011.
Defending, Advocate Sarah Morgan said it had been an error of judgement on her client’s part.
He felt he had needed to create space between himself and his partner and had been unsuccessful in his attempt to book in to a hotel as St Peter Port had been busy that night with the Harbour Carnival.
He had turned the engine of the car on in order to run the vehicle’s air conditioning as it had been so hot that evening.
Deputy Judge Russell Finch said the defendant had been ‘a complete twerp’ and his right to remain in Guernsey was not yet established. But his previous convictions were quite old and he was a hard-working man.
He imposed a prison sentence of six weeks suspended for two years, fined him £800, and banned him from driving for three-and-a-half years.