Valentine’s Day ended badly for 39-year-old when he was caught drink-driving

Valentine’s Day celebrations ended badly for a 35-year-old when he was caught drink-driving.Arturas Orla, of Norwich Road in Fakenham, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where he admitted the offence.Prosecutor Anna Crayford said that just after midnight on February 15, police saw Orla driving a Mercedes on Hardwick Road in Lynn. He had jumped a red traffic light.

He was stopped by police, and told officers he was “unaware” that he had driven through the red light.He also told them that he had drank three or four glasses of champagne earlier that day, but thought he would be able to drive.A roadside breath test came back positive, and Orla was arrested and taken to Lynn’s Police Investigation Centre for further tests. He provided a reading of 42mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit to drive is 35mcg.Orla had failed to comply with a breath test in 2018. In mitigation, solicitor Tiffany Meredith explained that Orla had been out with his partner celebrating Valentine’s Day prior to driving.She confirmed that Orla had some champagne, but had very little to eat.“He was very surprised that he was over the limit – he didn’t feel impaired at all. He hadn’t eaten anything that day because he was trying to lose weight,” Ms Meredith said. The solicitor added Orla was driving on a “very confusing” section of the Hardwick roundabout.She said: “Some lights were green and others were red.”Ms Meredith said that the driving disqualification, which is mandatory with any drink-driving case, will mean Orla will struggle to take his son to football practice.Magistrates banned Orla from driving for 37 months and fined him £461.He will also pay a victim surcharge of £184 and court costs of £85.