A former Plymouth Citybus driver who was arrested on suspicion of drink driving following an incident on a city street has been banned from driving for 21 months.
Wayne Hodge, aged 34, was stopped at the wheel of his own Ford car on December 11 last year by police. He was arrested in the Southway area following a minor road collision in Crownhill Road.
He was later breathalysed and was recorded as having 82mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath.
At the time of the incident he was employed by Plymouth Citybus but it is understood he continued to drive for them until January 24 when he was suspended from his role with the firm.
A Citybus spokesman explained that as soon as the company had the formal police charge "in writing", the driver was suspended and an internal investigation launched.
At the time they told Plymouth Live: "The internal process here is if it's in their own private time, until we receive written evidence from police or otherwise saying this person has done this named thing, unless the driver admits it themselves, [they will carry on driving].
"As soon as we had written evidence from police saying [the driver] was going to appear in court on said date regarding the event, we then suspended their duty licence with us and started an investigation.
"[The driver] won't be driving now until the court appearance, and if they are found guilty, they will be dismissed.
"If not, we will do another investigation and decide if they are fit to go back on the road."
Hodge, who initially gave his address to police as Langley Crescent, Southway, was later summonsed to appear at Plymouth Magistrates' Court on February 7. However, he failed to appear and magistrates issued a warrant not backed for bail – meaning he was to be arrested and brought before the court in custody.
It was not until February 14 that Hodge was finally arrested and brought before the court, where he gave a new address of Bennett Street, Devonport.
He pleaded guilty to the offence of drink driving and was fined £120. He was also ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge and £80 court costs. In addition, he was disqualified from driving for 21 months although he was told he has the opportunity to reduce this by 21 weeks if he completes a driver awareness course before April 19, 2020.
