Footballer Chris Eagles has been banned from driving and has joined Alcoholics Anonymous after he was found to be over the legal alcohol limit, while in the driver’s seat of his car.
Police found the former Manchester United star, 35, drunk in his £70,000 Audi in March, with his car parked outside the house of his then-girlfriend, Hollyoaks star Jennifer Metcalfe, near Altrincham.
A breathalyser test determined that the dad-of-two was almost three times the legal alcohol limit at the scene.
Appearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court earlier this week, MailOnline reported that the athlete admitted to being drunk, and said he was attending AA meetings.
The court heard that Eagles was arrested on March 21, when a man found him asleep in the car with his seatbelt fasted and the engine turned on, in the early hours of the morning – and contacted the police.
Prosecutor Nick Smart told the hearing: ‘The defendant was sat in the driver’s seat, slumped over the steering wheel. They smelled intoxicants coming from inside the vehicle.
‘They roused the defendant. He appeared to be sleeping. He was slurring his words. Officers thought he would be unable to provide a specimen. So, they took him to the local police station.’
The publication reports that he initially denied being drunk in charge of the car, and said at an earlier hearing that he tried to get into his girlfriend’s house to no avail, and so slept in his car with the engine on to charge his phone.
His lawyer, Jeremy Spencer, told the court: ‘He has attended Alcohol Anonymous meetings in Altrincham.
‘The officer stated when he saw him in the car, he didn’t have any shoes on, and his socks weren’t properly on his feet. He has three points on his licence from a fixed penalty matter.
‘He’s in a position to argue exceptional hardship at this stage. Mr Eagles has two children from a previous relationship, aged five and three. He has shared custody with the ex-partner. These two children are at different schools.
‘If disqualified he won’t be able to take them to their separate schools.’
His lawyer added that the ex-footballer was ‘concerned’ about the impact any driving penalty would have on his family.
Eagles has been banned from driving for three months, fined £1,250 and ordered to pay £275 in costs and surcharges.
Sentencing District Judge Bernard Begley told Eagles: ‘You were very intoxicated on the occasion in question and you were partially in a state of undress. It’s a high level of intoxication and that’s highly relevant to the way I will deal with this case.
‘In regard to the question of disqualification, disqualification for this offence is at my discretion. I have been urged on the basis of your mitigation, put forward by Mr Spencer, not to impose that course of action and progress matters with you getting 10 points on your licence.
‘It is not my view that’s the appropriate approach bearing in mind the nature of the events and circumstances.’
Eagles split with partner Danielle Mitchinson last October, following an eight-year relationship, with the former couple sharing two children together.
After their split, he started seeing Hollyoaks actress Jennifer, with the pair first seen together in January.
However, it wasn’t to last and they are thought to be taking ‘time apart’.
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