A businessman has admitted to drink-driving and driving without insurance after being stopped by police for the second time in recent years — but his sentencing is now delayed due to outstanding court fines.
Jody Warwick, 44, was pulled over on 23 May 2025 after a police officer noticed his vehicle on Marton Road, Middlesbrough. When stopped on Ormesby Bank, Warwick admitted to having consumed alcohol earlier that evening while out for tea with his mother. Officers reported a “strong smell” of alcohol in the car, and a roadside breath test showed a result of 62 microgrammes per 100ml of breath — nearly double the legal limit of 35. A later reading at the station registered 47 microgrammes.
The court heard that Warwick, of Danby Close, Guisborough, was also driving without a licence or insurance, and was already wanted on a warrant from 2022 following a prior offence. That earlier incident involved being caught driving whilst disqualified on 18 February 2022, during a ban that ran from May 2021 to July 2022.
At Teesside Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to multiple offences: driving over the alcohol limit, driving without insurance, and driving without a valid licence. The court was told he had been driving his partner’s car on both occasions.
Warwick, who owns a cladding company employing 16 workers, was described by his solicitor Sarah Lish as someone who “drinks very rarely” and does not have an issue with alcohol. She argued that this was a “one-off offence” as he was only briefly back in the Teesside area.
However, District Judge Helen Cousins stated that a community order was the minimum sentence appropriate, primarily because of Warwick’s “massive fines account” of £1,800. The judge told him that no alternative to a community order could be considered until the debt was cleared.
As a result, the case was adjourned until 4 August, and Warwick was given an interim driving disqualification.
About Carl Millar
Carl Millar is a highly respected and experienced drink driving solicitor who is the principal of Millars Solicitors.
Carl has been a specialist in road traffic law for many years and represents clients from all walks of life and all over the Country. He is well known for the dogged defending of his clients and robust cross examination of police officers and exert witnesses.
With a wealth of expertise in motoring law Carl is well placed to provide advice over the phone and deal with all road traffic matters in a calm and professional way.
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