Bromham couple caught drink driving after tip-off
7:00am Friday 5th March 2010 in
A married couple from Bromham have been banned from driving after both of them were caught drink driving after someone tipped off the police.
Ian and Lisa Fillis of Highfield, Bromham, were both arrested on February 12 on their way home from Bromham Social Club, travelling in separate cars.
Ian Fillis, 50, who is unemployed, admitted driving with excess alcohol in his blood. He was found to have 73mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.
His wife Lisa, a shop manager in Devizes, admitted failing to provide a breath test.
She gave a roadside breath test of 96mg in 100ml of blood, but failed to provide a further sample at Melksham Police Station.
The legal limit for alcohol in the breath is 35mg in 100ml of breath.
The couple had driven home the short distance from the social centre but were stopped after police received an anonymous tip off.
They appeared separately at North West Wiltshire Magistrates’ Court in Chippenham on March 1.
Lisa Fillis was stopped by police and she provided a breath sample at the roadside which showed she was over the limit, the court was told.
Her solicitor said she did not realise that following her arrest, she had to provide further samples.
Nicola Hutchinson, defending, said: “She understands that there were no excuses for her actions.
“But she didn’t understand the procedure and, never being in trouble before, she was petrified about what was going on.
“She had completely frozen and didn’t realise that she had to provide two further samples.”
Lisa Fillis was banned from driving for 24 months and was ordered to pay a fine of £250.
Moses Tawo, defending Mr Fillis, said that his client had put in a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.
Ian Fillis was banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay a fine of £350.
Both were offered the chance to attend a drink drive course to reduce their disqualification times.
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Comments(11)
Local Bloke
says...
9:08am Fri 5 Mar 10
As for not knowing she had to give two more breath sample - what rubbish. It is all very clearly explained to you when you arrive at the Custody Suite. I spent over 10 years doing them so I know that there is almost no chance of 'not realising' - Was she just drunk and uncooperative because the officers had no right to do what they were doing and she 'would have their jobs........' when her Solicitor got her off in Court.
Jim Pancy
says...
10:04am Fri 5 Mar 10
Someone must have acted very quickly to call the police and then they must have been in the area anyway. Unless this has happened before and someone was waiting for it to happen and had primed the police and the police were then just waiting for a call to confirm the Fillisses were on their way.
Either way it's good they got caught as there's no excuse for drink driving. They could even have left their cars at the club and gone back the next day or gone straight home and walked to the club. I bet they thought they could get away with it as they never saw police out there.
Well done to the person who tipped the police off. Well done to the police too for getting it sorted.
Back to Local Bloke's point, I did laugh when I read you saying they'd have their jobs. Does that happen often in the custody suite? People do get desperate. I remember when I used to work in the public services I got lots of idiots telling me "I pay your wages" like I should be giving them special treatment.
elfwyn
says...
4:45pm Fri 5 Mar 10
We're on the ball in Bromham - this happened to someone else a few years ago, and he lived even closer to the pub, but still drove. Serve them all right.
Bottom Of The Barrel
says...
4:59pm Fri 5 Mar 10
Local Bloke
says...
7:38pm Sat 6 Mar 10
Jim Pancy wrote:I very much doubt that this was a single 'lucky' call. I suspect that someone had been watching their routine over a longer period. Lets be honest, if we are being stereotypical, a lot of people drink til closing time so its fairly easy to pick the right time to strike.
You got me intrigued there, Local Bloke, so I got directions off google and it reckons that they're under a third of a mile apart! I reckon that's less than a ten minute walk.
Someone must have acted very quickly to call the police and then they must have been in the area anyway. Unless this has happened before and someone was waiting for it to happen and had primed the police and the police were then just waiting for a call to confirm the Fillisses were on their way.
Either way it's good they got caught as there's no excuse for drink driving. They could even have left their cars at the club and gone back the next day or gone straight home and walked to the club. I bet they thought they could get away with it as they never saw police out there.
Well done to the person who tipped the police off. Well done to the police too for getting it sorted.
Back to Local Bloke's point, I did laugh when I read you saying they'd have their jobs. Does that happen often in the custody suite? People do get desperate. I remember when I used to work in the public services I got lots of idiots telling me "I pay your wages" like I should be giving them special treatment.
As for my comment about 'having your job', I lost count of the times I heard that one, as well as 'you've got the wrong person', 'you can't arrest me...', ' 'you can't prove anything' and my favourite of all time ' That isn't me on that video' at which point the Solicitor said ' Oh yes it is. You're stuffed now...Go Guilty' and my captcha words - Hear, hear.
lordbuckethead
says...
11:07am Tue 9 Mar 10
Oh and by the way - "cheers"
Jim Pancy
says...
3:49pm Tue 9 Mar 10
elaine price
says...
4:36pm Wed 10 Mar 10
commonasmuck
says...
7:16pm Wed 10 Mar 10
cabbagepatch
says...
11:09am Fri 19 Mar 10
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Ian and Lisa Fillis outside Chippenham Magistrates Court (31061/6)
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Phorever says...
7:37am Fri 5 Mar 10
Their sentence was very light for the crime they committed.
The captcha below is very appropriate. It says 'need-life'