BOOZING former traffic cop Pc Desmond Smullen was the third Thames Valley police officer to be done for drink-driving in the past 12 months.

Magistrates at Bicester banned the self-confessed alcoholic from driving for three years and ordered him to do 150 hours community service yesterday.

Pc Smullen, 39, was nearly four times over the drink-drive limit when he collided with another car in Bicester town centre.

He has now left the force after handing in his resignation at a disciplinary hearing before Chief Constable Charles Pollard last Friday.

A police spokesman said he had been the third officer from the force to be convicted of drink-driving in the past 12 months.

He said: "Drinking and driving is a serious offence. Any officer driving under the influence of alcohol will not only be putting their own and others lives at risk but also their careers."

Laurie Kelleher, prosecuting, told the court Smullen had given a positive breath test after colleagues were called to a two-car crash in Field Street, Bicester, on January 25. Paul Redpath, defending, said Smullen had hit the bottle after his wife ran off with their next door neighbour, leaving him to look after their 12-year-old daughter. The couple have since divorced.

Smullen had to give up a promising career in the Territorial Army to become a child-minder.

He had also tried to get help with his drink problem but broke his hand in an accident and was no longer able to drive to counselling sessions in Reading.

Mr Redpath said: "He is angry with himself. He is very ashamed. He says common sense went out the window that night.

"He has pretty much lost everything in life that was of any importance to him."

Smullen, of Isis Avenue, Bicester, was formerly a traffic officer based at Bicester Traffic Base but had been transferred to beat work in Banbury after the break-up of his marriage several years ago.

He admitted driving with excess alcohol. His reading was 132mg in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg. Last year 3,878 motorists in the Thames Valley region were charged with driving with excess alcohol or refusing to give a breath test.

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