Hutton Rudby: Dangerous drink-driver caught and banned within three days

Thanks to the fast actions of a member of the public and the police, a man who got behind the wheel while almost four-times over the drink-drive limit has been banned from the roads for two-and-a-half years.

Richard Holmes, aged 55, of North End, Hutton Rudby, was dealt with at York Magistrates’ Court on Monday (15 May 2023) having been remanded into custody over the weekend due to concerns he would continue to drink-drive if he was released on bail.

Holmes was arrested after he was spotted by a vigilant member of the public getting into his red Skoda Fabia car while appearing to be heavily intoxicated.

He had just left the Spar shop on Garbutts Lane in the village at around 4.40pm on Friday (12 May).

The member of the public was able to record Holmes’ journey home on his dash-cam while reporting the matter to a police officer on patrol in the village.

When officers went to his address, Holmes admitted he had been driving and he provided a breath test which showed he was almost four-times over the drink drive limit – 138 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

He was taken into custody for questioning where he was later charged.

Taking public safety into account with Holmes, just two days prior, having been discharged from court for a similar offence, the duty Custody Sergeant applied for him to be remanded into custody ahead of his court appearance on Monday.

PC Daniel Walker, from the Investigation Hub, said:

“Holmes has shown a complete lack of remorse and regard for public safety, driving while heavily intoxicated and putting pedestrians and other road users at risk.

“Thanks to the efforts of the member of the public who spotted him and was able to provide dash-cam footage to the investigation, we were able to quickly and robustly deal with Holmes and take him off the roads for a significant period of time.”