Drink driver possessed illegal spray

A CAN of CS spray was thrown away by drink driver Paul Harrison on the night he drove into a garden wall. Harrison had drunk eight bottles of lager before the accident, and told police he had been stupid to drive. A year ago he was beaten up and followed

A CAN of CS spray was thrown away by drink driver Paul Harrison on the night he drove into a garden wall.

Harrison had drunk eight bottles of lager before the accident, and told police he had been stupid to drive.

"A year ago he was beaten up and followed, and he felt vulnerable," solicitor Tim Bartlam explained to Fenland magistrates on Wednesday.

"A friend bought him the pepper spray when he returned from Lithuania."

Harrison, 38, of Newgate Road, Tydd St Giles, admitted drink driving and possessing the illegal spray on December 9. His test reading was 82mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, more than double the legal limit of 35mcg.

Ordering Harrison to perform 60 hours' unpaid work for having the CS gas, presiding magistrate Michael Allen told him: "The law is there for a reason. As soon as you have it in your possession, there must be the intention of using it, otherwise you would not have had it."

Harrison was also banned from driving for 20 months and ordered to pay £35 costs.