Teen policeman convicted of drink driving

A teenage police constable has been convicted of a drink driving offence committed after just eight months on the job.

Wanganui officer Philip Middleton was pulled over on Church St in Palmerston North in the early hours of September 23 last year and admitted to having had two drinks.

The 19-year-old failed a breath alcohol test at the scene and was required to undergo a blood test which recorded a reading of 112 micrograms per litre of blood.

The legal limit is 80.

At a defended hearing at the Palmerston North district court this morning, Constable Middleton was convicted by Judge Gregory Ross, and disqualified from driving for six months.

He was also ordered to pay fines of $525 and medical fees of $313.

- NEWSTALK ZB