Sussex Police name drink drivers after crashes in Brighton and A27

A construction worker, a nurse, a marine diver, and a carpenter were all convicted of offences following a winter crackdown on drink and drug driving.

The convictions come after over 200 arrests were made by police for drink and drug driving offences in December 2022.

Aaron Botting

Aaron Botting, 35, was stopped in Church Street in Brighton at around 11.30pm on December 2 after driving his Land Rover the wrong way down the street.

Botting, a construction worker of Ash Close in Eastbourne, admitted that he had had “a few shandies” before driving.

He later admitted driving over the limit at Brighton Magistrates’ Court and was disqualified from driving for a year.

Sussex Police have been taking part in the Operation Limit campaign (Image: Sussex Police)

Ben Quigley

Ben Quigley, a service engineer of Pulborough Road in Storrington, was convicted of drink driving after running out of money for a taxi after a night out.

Quigley, 23, drove a VW camper van after his night out in Chichester and was involved in an incident where he crashed into a hedge by the A27 at 2.30am on December 11.

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He later admitted the offence and was disqualified from driving for 23 months. He was also ordered to do 80 hours of unpaid work.

Conrad Eckersley

Nurse Conrad Eckersley was stopped in Westfield Close in Brighton after an off-duty police officer saw him driving his Mini Cooper “erratically” and nearly hitting the central reservation.

Eckersley, 53, of Woodbourne Avenue in Brighton, tested over the limit at the roadside but failed to provide a breath sample in custody.

He admitted failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis and was disqualified from driving for a year as well as paying a £450 fine.

Brighton police on an operation during the campaign (Image: The Argus)

Lance Orton

Lance Orton, 66, was involved in a collision at Ford Level Crossing on December 8. He said that after returning from his night shift as a marine diver he drank “numerous” glasses of whiskey and had not considered that he would be over the limit when he woke up.

Orton, of Norfolk Road in Littlehampton, admitted the charge and was disqualified from driving for 20 months as well as being given a £1,164 fine.

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Adam Gower

Carpenter Adam Gower claimed that he did not know he was over the legal limit after crashing with another vehicle on his way back from the pub having had two pints of beer.

Gower, 36, of Broyle Road in Chichester, admitted driving over the legal limit following the crash on December 5 and was disqualified from driving for a year.

Harry Yeo

Harry Yeo, 24, was stopped after overtaking an unmarked police car at 70mph in a 50mph zone. When he was stopped he was described as having a “glazed” look on his face.

After being found to be over twice the legal limit of alcohol, Yeo, a steel worker of Highfield Lane in Oving, was disqualified from driving for 17 months having admitted the charge.

The convictions come as part of the national Operation Limit campaign which Sussex Police took part in.