Rugby League star Zak Hardaker admits drink driving at Leeds court

Rugby League star Zak Hardaker has admitted drink driving.
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Prosecutors told Leeds Magistrates' Court on Thursday that he attempted to avoid police officers by taking his car down a cul-de-sac along Knottingly Road, Pontefract, and running away on foot.

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The court heard how, when officers later visited his home, the rugby league player claimed not to have been the driver and said that the Ford Fiesta involved was not his car.

Zak Hardaker has admitted drink drivingZak Hardaker has admitted drink driving
Zak Hardaker has admitted drink driving

He read at more that twice the drink drive limit, and told officers he had two gins and six pints.

When breathalysed, Hardaker gave a reading of 74 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath - the legal limit being 35.

District Judge Paul Currer, sentencing, told the defendant: "You indulged in stupidity in asserting that you were not the driver and that it was not your car."

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He added that the offence, which took place at 12.15am on September 26, was aggravated by the fact that Hardaker had a passenger with him.

The full-back, who was listed on court documents as Zak Dakin, was given was given a 20-month ban from driving and a £1,810 fine.

Nick Hammond, defending, told how the conviction could have a "devastating effect" on the sportsman's career, adding that the initial attempt to run away was a "very amateurish attempt to avoid the attentions of the police".

At the time, his club said in a statement: "The player is co-operating with the police investigation. Wigan Warriors will allow the legal process to take its course."

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Hardaker, who is currently serving a 14-month ban from rugby for cocaine use, signed for Wigan in May.

He was thrown out of England's World Cup squad in 2013 for a breach of discipline and in 2015 agreed to pay £200 in compensation and write a letter of apology to a 22-year-old man under a "community resolution" after admitting assault.