Driver celebrates human rights court victory

[Mrs Fish]

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A man accused of being in charge of a vehicle after consuming excess alcohol is celebrating a human rights victory which could affect many other motorists.

In a case which split senior judges, Peter Sheldrake won a High Court ruling that road traffic laws which led to his conviction were "disproportionate".

The judges ruled the British laws "violated the presumption of innocence" to which Mr Sheldrake was entitled under the European Convention on Human Rights.

The police had found Mr Sheldrake, a maintenance fitter, asleep in his van with the doors locked on the evening of February 9, 2001 in a car park in Essex.

Mr Sheldrake, from the village of Hatfield Peverel, Essex, was found guilty of being "in charge" after local magistrates decided that he had failed to convince them that he had no intention of driving his van while over the limit. But, in a ruling which prosecutors fear marks a setback in the battle against drinking and driving, the High Court majority ruled the burden of proof contained in Section 5 was contrary to the human rights convention.

Mr Sheldrake's appeal was allowed by Lord Justice Clarke and Mr Justice Jack, with Mr Justice Henriques dissenting.

Lord Justice Clarke said imposing the reverse burden of proof in his case "violates the presumption of innocence because it enables an accused to be convicted, even though the court is not sure that there is a likelihood or risk of his driving".

During a recent hearing, his QC James Turner said he had parked in the car park after being called to deal with a drainage problem.

At the time matrimonial problems were playing on his mind and he accepted that he had a good deal to drink. He returned to the van and fell asleep in the driver's seat. A breath test revealed he was well over the limit, with 144 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

In July 2001, local magistrates ordered him to serve 160 hours community service, his licence was endorsed with 10 penalty points and he was ordered to pay legal costs of £395.