Hunstanton man caught speeding four times in three days, court told

A West Norfolk chef who was clocked speeding four times in three days has also been banned for drink-driving.

The offences happened six months apart but Paul Bowman, 45, received disqualifications for both matters when he appeared before Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.

The excess alcohol matter happened at Lynn on June 14, 2021.

“Police were alerted by a third party regarding a silver BMW and the driver being potentially drunk,” said prosecutor Priscilla Afful-Mensah.

Bowman, of High Street, Hunstanton, was stopped on the A149 and told police he’d had a couple of glasses of wine with a meal in Cambridge.

He failed a roadside breath test and in custody gave a reading of 83 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

The court was told he had a previous drink-driving conviction in 1997.

Bowman was also sentenced for four speeding offences – all in 60mph limits in quick succession.

He was clocked doing 75mph at Dersingham at 6.02am on December 20, 2020, and at 71mph at Castle Rising at 3.51pm on the same day.

And on December 23 he was doing 79mph at Dersingham at 3.35am and 82mph on the A17 just ten minutes later.

David Foulkes, mitigating, said the drink-driving offence happened a return train trip to Cambridge from Lynn, where Bowman had left his car.

He had arranged a taxi from the railway station but cancelled it after receiving a phone call informing him that he’d need his car at home early the following morning.

“It seems that the taxi company or someone else at the station alerted the police to the fact Mr Bowman was driving away,” said Mr Foulkes.

For drink-driving, Bowman was disqualified for 20 months, which can be cut with completion of a rehabilitation course. He was also fined £250 and ordered to pay £105 costs, plus a £66 victim surcharge.

For the speeding offences he received a total of 15 points and a six-month ban (to run concurrently) under the totting procedure. He also received fines totalling £415 and costs of £380.