A FATHER-OF-TWO was fined £1,000 for drink-driving with his children in the car.
Antonino Bellinvia, of Gaisford Road, Cowley, appeared before magistrates charged with being three times over the legal limit when he was stopped in Henley Avenue, Cowley, by officers after Bellinvia attended a family wedding on July 31.
The 44-year-old, who was of previous good character, pleaded guilty to drink-driving at Oxford Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
The married dad, who works as a site manager for a construction company, was unable to carry out community work because his job takes him out of the UK for weeks at a time, leaving magistrates with no option but to impose a large fine.
Defence solicitor Charlotte Frizzell told the court: “At 11pm he phoned a taxi and the taxi company told him it would be an hour or an hour and a half.He made the stupid decision he would drive home.”
Disqualifying him from driving for 24 months and fining him £1,000, chairman of the magistrates Christopher Bates told Bellinvia: “It is a very, very serious offence.
“You were three times over the limit with children in the car.”
He was also ordered to pay £100 in court costs and charges.
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