Disqualified Brighton motorist jailed for latest drink-driving offence after being stopped in Hove

Police said Jamie Marsh was seen driving a silver Jeep Commander in Old Shoreham Road around 6.30pm on Sunday, July 9.

Police said that Roads Policing Unit specialists PC Neil Hersey and PC Brendan Slattery suspected the vehicle was being driven by a disqualified driver.

PC Hersey said: “We approached the vehicle in the car park at Goldstone Retail Park, and it quickly became clear that Marsh was lying about his identity. That is because he is a prolific offender for driving while banned, with multiple disqualifications dating back to 2017.

“It was shocking that he was over the alcohol limit with a pregnant passenger and young child in the car. It is even more shocking to know that he had been in court three weeks earlier for drink-driving, and had been given a suspended prison sentence. That should have been warning enough, yet here he was, once again, back on the roads while nearly double the legal limit for alcohol. We knew it was important to safely stop the vehicle, and we ensured the safety of the passenger and child before taking Marsh to custody.”

Police said Marsh claimed to be ‘Stephen Paul Marsh’ with a different date of birth, but police realised he had been disqualified just three weeks earlier for drink-driving.

A Sussex Police spokesperson said: “On that occasion, he had given a different false name and obstructed police who had seen him driving while using a mobile phone in Kings Road, Brighton, on June 16. He was given a suspended prison sentence at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on June 19, and was under a disqualification until 2027.

“Marsh, 38, unemployed of Phoenix Rise, Brighton, was charged for the latest offences and remanded in custody to appear before Brighton Magistrates’ Court on July 10. He admitted driving while disqualified, driving without insurance, possession of a class A drug, and drink-driving.

“The court was told how Marsh tested positive for 63 microgrammes (mcg) of alcohol per 100 millilitres (ml) of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. Marsh was sentenced to ten weeks in prison, with a further three-year driving disqualification and £156 victim surcharge.

“Previously, at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on June 19, it was revealed how officers had seen him driving while using a mobile phone while driving a Ford Transit van at 2.45pm on June 16 in Kings Road, Brighton. At first he told officers he would give his phone to his passenger next time. The officers could smell alcohol on his breath and asked Marsh to complete a roadside breath test, which he failed.”

Sussex Police said that Marsh was also convicted for two counts of drug-driving, drink-driving, driving without insurance, driving while disqualified, and driving a car in which a young child had no appropriate seatbelt or child car seat on May 15, 2021, in Coombe Road, Brighton. Police said he tested positive for cannabis and cocaine in his system. He admitted all these offences at court hearings on September 7 and December 7 last year.

Police added that his previous offences also include bans for drug driving and driving while disqualified in Southwick on October 26, 2021, and driving while disqualified in 2018 after being given a three-year ban in 2017.

PC Hersey added: “We are determined to stop drink and drug-drivers as these are among the main causes of people being killed or seriously injured on our roads. We are pleased that a dangerous driver like Marsh has been taken off our roads before he causes any risk of harm to himself, to his passengers or to everyone else using our roads.”