A BANNED motorist who failed to comply with a police drug test after crashing, has succeeded in cutting his prison sentence by seven weeks.

David Welsh was last month jailed for 24 weeks by Peterlee magistrates after admitting driving while disqualified, without insurance and failing to provide a sample for analysis.

The offences stemmed from him crashing a Vauxhall Zafira into Northgate roundabout, Darlington, at 9.30pm on June 25.

He was later asked to give a urine sample to test for drugs, which he agreed to, but failed to provide one for police.

Welsh was said to have claimed his cola drink must have been ‘spiked’ with valium while visiting friends at a caravan site, earlier.

The court heard the offence put him in breach of a 24-week suspended prison sentence, imposed previously for driving while disqualified, in Darlington, in March.

Welsh, 39, of Lewes Road, Darlington, was said to have 50 previous convictions for 144 offences, many for motoring misdemeanours, dating back to 1997.

The magistrates activated 22-weeks of his suspended sentence and added it to the 24-week sentence, at last month’s hearing.

Welsh’s barrister Nicholas Rooke told a sentence appeal at Durham Crown Court that he should have received greater ‘discount’, in recognition of his guilty pleas.

Recorder Ian Atherton, sitting with two magistrates, agreed and reduced the overall sentence from 46 weeks to 39, but the accompanying 52-month driving ban will remain in place.