FIVE Somerset motorists have recently faced magistrates' courts for offences they have committed on roads around the south west.

One has been banned from driving for twelve months for drink-driving, one has been fined for driving without third-party insurance, and another driver was fined for permitting someone else to drive a car without insurance. 

Two others were fined and handed penalty points for speeding.  

Steven Philip Arnold

On Monday, November 15, Steven Philip Arnold, of Mundays Mead, Wincanton, was banned from driving for a year and ordered to pay £419 for driving while over the legal alcohol limit.

Arnold, 38, had 58 micrograms of alcohol in his breath after driving a BMW in Hilperton Way in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, on Sunday, October 24.

The drink-drive limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath.

Arnold pleaded guilty to the offence.

South East Wiltshire Magistrates’ Court fined him £300 and ordered him to pay a £34 surcharge to fund victim services and costs of £85 to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Arnold has been disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving license for 12 months, but his ban could be reduced by 13 weeks if he completes a course approved by the secretary of state.

The cost of the course will not exceed £250.

Somerset County Gazette: BANNED: The Salisbury Law Courts building in WiltshireBANNED: The Salisbury Law Courts building in Wiltshire

Archie Michael Stone

Archie Michael Stone, of Bennett Gardens, Frome, drove an Audi A3 in Huntenhall Lane, Chapmanslade, near Westbury, without third-party insurance. 

Stone, 19, pleaded guilty under a single justice procedure, which allows people who have been charged with minor criminal offences to have their case decided by a magistrate without going to court.

He was fined £153 by a magistrate from South East Wiltshire Magistrates’ Court on November 15.

Stone was also told to pay costs of £110 and a £34 surcharge.

He was handed six penalty points.

Trevor Philip S Symons

Saab driver Trevor Philip S Symons, of Bath Road, Bridgwater, was clocked driving at over 60mph at Borner’s Bridge on the A361 in South Molton, Devon.

He committed the offence on February 16.

Court documents do not disclose the speed Symons was driving at.

He was proved guilty under a single justice procedure on November 15.

Symons was fined £220 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £34 and costs of £90 – giving him a total of £344 to pay.

He was also handed three penalty points.

Somerset County Gazette: SPEEDING: The A361 near Borner's Bridge, South Molton (Image: Google Maps)SPEEDING: The A361 near Borner's Bridge, South Molton (Image: Google Maps)

Danielle Ruth Sewell

Danielle Ruth Sewell, of Anglesea House in Timsbury, near Bath, was clocked driving an Audi at over 70mph on the M5 near Burlescombe.

Sewell, 32, was fined £40 after pleading guilty under a single justice procedure.

She was also ordered to pay a £34 surcharge and costs of £90 by a magistrate from Bodmin Magistrates' Court, giving her a total of £164 to pay. 

Her driving license was endorsed with six penalty points.

Sarah Jane Pearse

Sarah Jane Pearse, of Newton Road, North Newton, has been ordered to pay £816 after permitting another person to drive a vehicle without insurance.

Pearse, 49, permitted Dean Lawrence to drive a Citroen C3 on the M5 motorway on Tuesday, March 2.

She was proved guilty under a single justice procedure.

Pearse was fined £660 and ordered to pay a £66 surcharge and costs of £90 by Bodmin Magistrates’ Court.

She was handed eight penalty points.

Pearse was also found guilty of driving without insurance on the M5 between Exeter and Cullompton, but she received no seperate penalty.