Tory Councillor Caught Drink-Driving - Again!

A former Tory leader of Devon County Council has lost her licence for 14 months following a second drink-driving offence. Drunken pensioner Christine Channon, 69, was caught out after crashing close to her home in snobbish Budleigh Salterton.

Raddled Channon, who yesterday defended herself in court, denied having told the arresting officer she was a councillor. She said she’d drunk cans of Special Brew strong lager, often the choice of destitute alcoholics, before driving to the local all-night convenience store for groceries.

Channon’s resigned from the council's cabinet as portfolio holder for schools and learning, as she’s unable to remember much about the duties involved. But she has no intention of standing down entirely: “I’ve had tremendous support from the local community. Saturday nights, if I need help across the car-park some of the public bar lot will always carry me to the Merc.”

This isn’t the first time Channon’s attracted criticism. As a Councillor, she was accused of wasting public money after ignoring advice on the design of Sidmouth’s new pedestrian crossings, saying: “If they don't settle down we'll just look at changing them.” Such unconcern is hard to fathom, since for the next 14 months she’ll once again be reduced to shank's pony status.