Drinking alcohol is ‘quite common’ in Poland, says drunk driver slurring his words behind the wheel of an ice cream truck

A Polish driver caught driving an ice cream truck with nearly four times the legal alcohol limit has told a court that drinking alcohol is “quite common” in his country.

Hundreds of thousands of tourists were visiting Great Yarmouth in Norfolk during the peak summer period when Radoslaw Jaroszek, 45, was serving cones and lollies.

Police were alerted by concerned customers who said he appeared “drunk” and “impaired”. He was followed by CCTV as he drove his Ford Transit through the coastal town where he lives and was stopped for a breathalyzer test.

Officers found he had 131mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath, almost four times the limit of 35mg. He was then taken in for questioning, and at that time, the lowest level of alcohol in his breath was 100mg.

Appearing at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, the 45-year-old admitted drink-driving and was banned from the road for more than two years.

The court was told that on August 12 he was working for Lamarti’s Ice Cream, a company founded in 1980 which operates a fleet of modern vans in Norfolk.

Officers told the hearing they “smelled liquor” when they stopped him at 3:20 p.m. and that he was unsteady on his feet.

Jaroszek said he did not normally drink but would down “two pints of beer” to help him cope with depression caused by his partner’s recent miscarriage.

Speaking through an interpreter, he also said that in his home country of Poland it was “quite common” to drink alcohol and he had not realised drink-driving laws in the UK were so strict.

Jaroszek was banned from driving for 25 months, given a 12-month community order including 100 hours of unpaid work, ten days of mandatory rehabilitation and ordered to pay a total of £100 in court costs.

After his arrest he was fired and remains unemployed.