A MAN who made the decision to take a car without the owner’s consent before failing to give police a specimen of blood for analysis has been sentenced.   

Steven Culleton, of Amphitrite Street South in Barrow, admitted he had driven a Ford Focus without lawful authority.

South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court heard on May 8 that he was stopped by road traffic officers on Roose Road on April 8 as they had reason to believe the defendant was either drink or drug driving.

The 31-year-old defendant was asked to provide a specimen for analysis at the roadside but refused to do so.

Police enquiries revealed Culleton had also been driving the vehicle without a licence or third-party insurance.

As a result of his guilty pleas to the offences at the first opportunity, magistrates imposed a two-year community order with requirements to complete 19 days of an accredited programme and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Magistrates also banned the defendant from driving for 48 months and ordered that he pay court costs of £85 and a £114 surcharge.