Jazz trumpeter drove to shop that was five-minute walk away after binging on spirits 'because his wife left him'

A jazz trumpeter was caught at more than three times the limit for drink driving while feeling the blues after his wife left him. James Lyons was clocked crawling along a road near his Timperley home at 10mph, Manchester Magistrates Court heard yesterday (June 15).

The 63-year-old told magistrates 'it certainly won't happen again' after he was banned from getting behind the wheel for the second time in eight years. Lyons drove to a Nisa convenience store after binging on spirits in his kitchen, despite only living a five-minute walk away from the shop, the court heard.

Officers found Lyons 'clearly intoxicated' in a car park. The trumpet and double bass player, who trained at the London College of Music, blew a reading of 119 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - with the legal limit being 35mg.

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Prosecuting, Gareth Hughes said: "On December 23 [last year] at 3:40pm, the defendant was pictured on CCTV getting into his car and driving the short distance to the Nisa Local near his address in Timperley. This was despite the store being only a one minute drive from his address.

"Police were called after someone alerted them to the footage of the defendant driving slowly towards the store. The police arrived to find the defendant sat behind the wheel of his car and clearly intoxicated.

"He volunteered his keys and complied with the police’s roadside breathalyser test. He was then taken back to a nearby custody suite where he was given another breathalyser test, with the lowest reading showing he had 119 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath."

Lyons pleaded guilty to drink driving at his first court appearance. The court