Town player on drink-drive charge

Andy Nicholas, a SWINDON Town footballer, was taken into custody on suspicion of drunk driving.

After a team-building activity, he was involved in an automobile accident.

Just before five in the morning on Wednesday, the 23-year-old defender was taken into custody. It is believed that on

Tuesday night, he went out with teammates.

Paul Sturrock’s team regularly features the Liverpool left-back, who joined the Robins in the summer of 2003.

After crashing his Saab into a roundabout sign in Whitehill Way, close to Asda, in West Swindon, at 4.45 am, he was

taken into custody on suspicion of drunk driving.

Traffic police said that no other cars were involved in the accident and Nicholas was not injured.

Sgt Nigel Kinderman, of Swindon police, could not confirm that it was Nicholas who was arrested.

He said: “All I can say is a 23-year-old male was arrested and charged with drink-driving and will be appearing at

Swindon Magistrates’ Court on February 15.”

The club say that while they are aware of the matter they do not wish to comment until after the court hearing.

In December 2005, Swindon midfielder Michael Pook said that he had learnt his lesson after being caught drink-

driving at almost twice the legal limit.

The footballer pleaded guilty at Swindon Magistrates’ Court to the offence and was banned from driving for 19

months and fined £300.

Two other charges, of driving without insurance and not in accordance with a licence, were withdrawn after he

produced the necessary documents.

The court heard that the then 19-year-old, of Homeleigh, Haydon Wick, had got behind the wheel of his Renault Clio

after a night out drinking.

He said that he got in his car in an effort to rescue his girlfriend.

She had phoned to say that she was stranded without a taxi and was getting unwanted attention from men.

He was discovered in Kingshill, at around 3am on November 20 after reports that he was driving too fast.

Pook had gone to Havelock Square’s Apartment nightclub with friends that evening.

“Being charged has brought me up short and I won’t make the same mistakes again because it just isn’t worth it,” he

said in a statement at the time.

In November of last year, on-loan winger Albert Jarrett crashed his car, resulting in a £1,200 fine and a six-month

driving restriction.

On January 31, Jarrett, who was on loan from Brighton, was driving his black Volkswagen Touareg through Old

Town’s Union Row-Belle Vue Road intersection when he failed to yield and collided with a silver Porsche.