Man drinks water from lavatory bowl in attempt to beat breath test

A desperate driver consumed water from a urinal in a police cell to try and dilute the level of alcohol in his body, a court heard. Martin Newton, of Chapel Row, Seahouses, Northumberland, then made no attempt to blow into a breathalyser to try and evade detection. Berwick Magistrates’ Court heard how Newton, 27, was pulled over when officers spotted him driving at night with no lights on the A1.

The car narrowly missed the police vehicle as it passed and when Newton was stopped he appeared to be drunk. An initial breath test, which could not be used as evidence, showed a reading of 124mg of alcohol, the legal limit is 35mg. Newton was then taken to Berwick police station. In a desperate act, he asked to go to the toilet, but as he was shown to the cells, slammed the door behind him, which was locked.



Officers had to go and get a key and when they opened it they found the defendant drinking water from the urinal. Prosecutor James Long said: “This was clearly a blatant attempt to try and dilute the alcohol content in his body.” When he was shown into the room for a breath test, the bench was told Newton made no attempt to blow into the apparatus and was charged with failing to provide a specimen.

In mitigation, defence solicitor John Brown said his client had been drinking heavily due to financial strain. Newton pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis. Magistrates banned him from driving for three years, and he was sentenced to 20-weeks imprisonment. He lodged an appeal and was released on conditional bail and the sentence suspended pending a fresh hearing.