Drink-driver spells out true cost of Christmas (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Drink-driver spells out true cost of Christmas

A WINCHCOMBE man has spelled out the true cost of drink-driving this Christmas and New Year.

Christopher Heath, aged 34, of Church Lane, Toddington, was convicted of drink-driving earlier this year and banned from driving for three years and fined £158.

He was stopped by police and breath tested after leaving a New Year's party at about 6am.

He had drunk around 25 pints of lager during the evening but thought the effects of the booze would have worn off after a few hours sleep.

"It was just a random stop at Shurdington. The police could smell drink on my breath and I was twice over the legal limit," said Christopher, a self-confessed former "Jack the Lad" who last week helped launch Gloucestershire police's annual crackdown on drink-drivers during the festive period.

"I was just glad no-one got hurt," he added.

Since then Christopher has paid £180 to take part in a Gloucestershire County Council drink-drive rehabilitation course, which means he will have his ban reduced by six months.

"The course I attended was certainly a wake up call. The images I saw and the experiences I heard about are real eye-openers. I only wish that more people could take part in this course to make them realise the horrific results that can happen when you drink and drive," said Christopher.

He now feels strongly that anyone planning to drive should avoid all alcohol - not just at Christmas but all year round.

And he hammers home his message by emphasising that a drink-drive ban is more than a simple inconvenience.

Since his ban Christopher has lost his job as head lad at Norman Bavidge's racehorse stables in Brockhampton and he has lost his girlfriend because of the stress.

Apart from that, he reckons that when he eventually is able to start driving again he will be lucky to get car insurance for less than £2,000 if at all.

"My life is screwed," he said. "I did go through a really bad patch."

He is now determined to move forward and hopes his experiences will be a salutary lesson for others tempted to drink-drive this Christmas.

"I wish more and more people would be aware of the dangers, especially at this time of the year. I still drink but I know I can't drive," he said.