Immingham landlord caught over drink-drive limit faces losing his club licence

A CLUB landlord could be in trouble with licensing bosses after being banned from the roads for drink-driving.

Graham Trench, who jointly runs the Solway Club, in Kings Road, Immingham, was left with a £360 court bill and was disqualified from driving for 16 months.

He was warned at Grimsby Magistrates' Court that the conviction would be reported to the licensing authorities at North East Lincolnshire Council.

It will be up to the council's licensing team to decide whether action will be taken against him.

Trench told the court that, at the moment, he was the landlord at the club in partnership with his sister.

Trench, 49, of Manby Road, Immingham, admitted drink-driving on July 23.

John Harris, prosecuting, said police received a tip-off from a member of the public at about 11.55pm that a driver had drunk seven pints at the Solway Club that evening.

Trench was stopped in Manby Road and he smelled of alcohol.

A breath test revealed he had 53mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

He told the court: "I would like to say sorry to the court for the inconvenience."

He added that he was the licence holder of the Solway Club.

"I am the landlord there in partnership with my sister," he said.

He added that he was disabled and did not know how he was going to get to work if he were banned from driving.

It was not possible to live on the premises, he added.

Trench said he earned about £180 a week from the business but had to pay wages and his own expenses for food and petrol for his car.

District judge Daniel Curtis told Trench: "You, as a licensee, should appreciate the dangers of drinking and driving.

"Unlike the rest of your blame-free and no doubt hard-working life, you made a foolish decision to get behind the wheel of a car."

He warned Trench not to be tempted to drive while banned.

"If you do drive, there is every possibility you could be sent to prison," said Mr Curtis.

Trench, who said he had recently moved from Richard Street, Grimsby, was fined £250 and was ordered to pay £85 costs and a Government-imposed £25 victims' surcharge.

After the hearing, Trench was given the chance to comment on the case but he declined to do so.

A council spokesman said that the licensing team would wait to see what was in a letter from the court about the conviction.

The licensing team would consider the matter and decide if any action should be taken. This would depend on the seriousness of the offence, he said.

He could not say if Trench faced losing his licence but it was a possibility.

Another possibility might be that he could still be a licence holder but might be told that he could not be a designated premises supervisor.

"Until we see the letter from the court, we can't really say," said the spokesman.

"It really depends on what the court says in the letter."

It was possible that revocation of Trench's licence might be considered, he added.

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