A man who claimed a group of Asian youths had racially abused him at a campsite has been fined for failing to provide a blood sample after a crash.
Stephen Thompson had been camping in Northumberland in July this year but decided to leave the site with the intention of sleeping in his car after being "picked on" by youths. But the 41-year-old decided to drive away along a road he was unfamiliar with and ended up having a crash after hitting a grass verge.
When police arrived at the scene, officers believed he was under the influence and described him as "falling over". But when a breath test failed, he was asked to provide a sample of blood, which he refused.
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On Monday, Thompson, of Marondale Avenue, Walkergate, Newcastle, appeared at Newcastle Magistrates' Court facing a charge of failing to provide a specimen. Thompson pleaded guilty to the offence on the day his trial was due to begin.
The court heard that on July 2, police were called to a crash near Houxty Bank Head in Wark, Northumberland, which involved a car leaving a road and ending up in a field. When officers arrived, Thompson was standing near his car and said he had "lost control" on a bend. Officers thought it was "clear" he was intoxicated and he was described as "falling over", he also admitted he had been drinking alcohol earlier that day.
A breath test was then carried out but the machine failed and he later refused to provide a blood sample, which the court heard was a "straight forward refusal". Thompson, an unemployed joiner, also had previous convictions and received a prison sentence in 2015 for an unrelated matter.
John Wesencraft, defending Thompson, said: "The defendant had been camping in an area he doesn't know particularly well and there was a confrontation with a group of Asian youths who were picking on him and being racist towards him. He decided to leave the campsite and drive away from trouble and spend the night in his car. He left the site and didn't know the road and hit a grass verge after taking a turn. That's how the accident occurred." Speaking of the fall police witnessed, Mr Wesencraft said Thompson fell as he tried to "negotiate a fence" and said that as far as he was concerned, he had already provided a sample for the police and said it was not a "deliberate refusal".
Thompson was fined £270 by magistrates and was banned from driving for 24 months.
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