Johnson admits drink-drive charge

Leeds midfielder Seth Johnson today admitted driving at 135mph on a motorway while over the drink-drive limit.

Johnson, 24, was more than twice over the leg drink drive limit when he was stopped on the M62 near Bradford, Dewsbury Magistrates’ Court was told.

The player, from Wetherby, West Yorkshire, admitted charges of speeding and drink driving.

Richard Ogden, prosecuting, said an unmarked police vehicle had followed a Porsche 911 and a Mini Cooper on the motorway for seven miles.

The speeds of the two vehicles ranged from 100mph to a maximum of 135mph.

Johnson, who was driving the Porsche, readily pulled over for the police, and told officers: “I know I’ve been stupid.”

He was arrested after he gave a breath test which proved positive.

Mr Ogden told the court Johnson stopped “readily” and initially told officers he had not been drinking.

But at Bradford police station he produced a breath test reading of 83. The legal limit is 35.

Mr Ogden said that when he was interviewed about the incident he told police he had not been “playing cat and mouse” with the Mini.

Johnson was originally charged with racing on a public highway, but that was withdrawn by the prosecution today.

Peter Cadman, defending, said Johnson had not started the incident and was wrong to respond to the Mini, which had started tailgating him.

“Whathe should have done is to pull over into the slow lane and let the Mini do what he wanted to do,” Mr Cadman said.

Instead, Johnson hit very high speeds trying to accelerate away from the other driver.

Mr Cadman said: “What he has done has caused no danger to any other road user. For a short period of time he was doing a very high speed.”

Johnson had been surprised by the high level of alcohol in his breath but admitted he had been drinking at a family funeral earlier that day, and had then drunk more when he stopped to watch the England international on the way home.

“Foolishly and wrongly he decided to drive home to be with his pregnant girlfriend.”

Johnson, of Northgate Lane, Linton, near Wetherby, was “a respectable young man”, said Mr Cadman, who handed the court references from the current Leeds manager Peter Reid and former boss Terry Venables.

The player would face financial punishment from Leeds United which would almost certainly be an amount higher than the magistrates were empowered to fine him, he said, adding that Johnson had a record of driving offences. which included two speeding offences and another of parking on a zebra crossing.

Johnson was sentenced to 100 hours community service and was disqualified from driving for 24 months. He was also fined £1,500 for speeding.

Sentencing, chair of the bench David Haywood said: “We consider that the drink driver offence is aggravated by the speed at which you were driving and your previous record.”