Van driver was on phone while threetimes over the limit

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Tarik Girgin after he was convicted in his absence at Hastings Magistrates’ Court of drink-driving, driving without a licence, using a mobile phone at the wheel and driving a vehicle without a valid MOT.

After a tip-off from a member of the public, Girgin was arrested at an address in London Road, Bexhill, shortly after 1pm yesterday (Thursday 20 November).

On 2 June Girgin, 30, was seen by officers holding his mobile phone to his ear as he drove his Mercedes Sprinter van on the A259 Bexhill Road heading away from Hastings and towards Bexhill.

When he was breathalysed he was found to have 112 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of his breath - more than three times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes. He did not have a valid driving licence and his van’s MOT had expired.

Girgin, of Durham Hill, Bromley, Kent, failed to turn up to Hastings Magistrates’ Court on 18 November.