Leicester City player fined £20,000 after being caught drink-driving
Hamza Choudhury was stopped by a police patrol in Nottingham in the early hours of January 19.
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Leicester City star Hamza Choudhury has been fined £20,000 after a court heard he was caught drink-driving on the wrong side of the road in his wife’s Range Rover.
Nottingham Magistrates’ Court was told the 26-year-old made the “impulsive and spontaneous” decision to drive back to a restaurant to collect his phone despite being more than double the legal alcohol limit in the early hours.
Choudhury, a married father of three young children, realised he had “let himself and his family down,” his lawyer said.
The court was shown police dashcam footage of a traffic patrol activating blue lights and passing through red lights behind Choudhury, who did not pass any red signals himself.
A 23-second clip of the footage was released by the Crown Prosecution Service after the case, showing Choudhury crossing back to the right side of the carriageway through a central reservation, before being pulled over near Nottinghamshire’s County Hall.
Choudhury was handed a 40-month driving ban, which will be reduced by around nine months if he completes a drink-driving rehabilitation course.
Prosecutor Ben Payne told the court Choudhury had a previous drink-driving conviction dating back to 2017, meaning the player faced a mandatory ban of at least three years.
Mr Payne told the court a police patrol stopped Choudhury in Loughborough Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, in the early hours of Friday January 19.
He makes the impulsive and spontaneous decision to get his phone at 1.30am to 2am. He wholeheartedly regrets that decision. I have already said he appreciates the enormity of it. He was on the wrong side of the road
Choudhury was arrested and provided two breath-test readings at a police station, the lowest of which was 71mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, more than double the limit of 35mcg.
Mr Payne said a charge of failing to co-operate with a roadside breath test had been withdrawn.
Choudhury, of Edwalton, Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and careless driving and was also ordered to pay a £2,000 victim surcharge and £85 in prosecution costs.
Defence lawyer Kally Sahota told the court Choudhury had shared a taxi home from a restaurant with a friend, but had returned in his wife’s car after waking up and realising he had left his phone behind.
Mr Sahota told the court: “He makes the impulsive and spontaneous decision to get his phone at 1.30am to 2am.
“He wholeheartedly regrets that decision. I have already said he appreciates the enormity of it.
“He was on the wrong side of the road.”
During his mitigation on behalf of Choudhury, Mr Sahota stressed that the star pulled over quickly and there was no issue of him failing to stop for police.
“From the footage, there is not a soul on either side of the road,” the defence solicitor added. “Mr Choudhury knows this was a grave mistake.”
Mr Choudhury, you are pretty much living every child's dream. You are a young man who has got to the top of his game. Whether you like it or not, you are a role model. Not only for your own children but for children around the country
Passing sentence, District Judge Sunil Khanna told Choudhury, who earns £12,000-a-week, that he hoped never to see him before the court again.
The judge said: “Mr Choudhury, you are pretty much living every child’s dream. You are a young man who has got to the top of his game.
“Whether you like it or not, you are a role model. Not only for your own children but for children around the country.
“I really hope this is going to be a wake-up call to you. I understand the rationale behind why you went to the restaurant.
“I do accept that this will impact you and that you are extremely embarrassed by what has occurred.”
You are a young man with the world at your feet. Please let this be a lesson to you
The judge said of the course offered to Choudhury: “It’s a very good course. It will educate you going forward in relation to the effects of alcohol and drinking and driving.
“Please do not be tempted to drive while disqualified. That is a serious offence – most courts would look at a prison sentence.
“You are a young man with the world at your feet. Please let this be a lesson to you.”
Choudhury, who attended court with his partner, joined Leicester City as a seven-year-old, the judge was told.