A POLICE officer will be retrained after a man walked free from court when it was revealed a breathalyser had not been used properly.

The 23-year-old man appeared at Banbury Magistrates’ Court last Monday to deny a charge of failing to provide a specimen of breath.

He had been arrested and breath-tested following a road accident at Middleton Stoney in March last year. No other vehicles were involved.

He told magistrates he had to provide two specimens of breath when he was taken to the police station.

However, he said he was only able to provide one as the officer had asked him to blow into the device for too long for the first test.

The police officer told the court he usually asked suspects to blow for such a period.

However, this was later discovered to be too long and at odds with the instructions given by the manufacturer.

The Crown Prosecution Service was told by an expert there was no realistic prospect of conviction and the case was dropped.

Police spokesman David Staines said: “The operation of the device was not in accordance with the training given to the officer.

“Thames Valley Police conducts numerous evidential procedures which are regularly scrutinized by courts and found to be correctly and accurately conducted. As a result of the case, Thames Valley Police will retrain the officer concerned to ensure that this does not happen again.”

Lawyers at Blake Lapthorn, the firm which defended the man, said there was a risk the officer had conducted other breath tests in the same incorrect manner.

Spokesman Daniel Baber said the firm was also concerned other officers may have been trained incorrectly.