Liverpool striker sentenced to jail

A former Liverpool Football Club striker, Dean Saunders, has been jailed for 10 weeks.

The Welshman pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a roadside breath test and failing to provide a breath sample for analysis at a police station.

The 55-year-old, who was stopped on suspicion of drunk driving by police in Boughton, Chester, on May 10, was sentenced on Wednesday.

Saunders, of The Paddocks, Whitegate, near Northwich, Cheshire, had initially denied both charges at an earlier hearing but indicated a change of plea to guilty on Tuesday.

He said he had been out at Chester Races and had drunk two pints.

He will also be banned from driving for 30 months upon his release from prison and ordered to pay court costs of £620.

Saunders, who also played for Aston Villa and Derby County and was capped by Wales 75 times, is a regular football TV and radio pundit.

District Judge Nicholas Sanders told him: “Throughout these proceedings you have shown yourself to be arrogant, thinking you are someone who’s previous and current role in the public eye entitles you to be above the law.

“In fact the opposite is true – someone in the public eye should expect a deterrent sentence when they flout the law.”

The Welshman’s defence had earlier told the court that Saunders refused to provide a breath sample as he suffers from asthma, and the two drinks may have ‘interacted’ with the medication.

But prosecutor Kerry Pepperall claimed that this was not mentioned during the arrest.

And she stated the CCTV footage showed ‘an intoxicated person’ who was ‘highly under the influence of alcohol’.

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A maximum sentence of six months can be carried if a person fails to provide a specimen for analysis when told to do so by police officers.

The Welshman played 75 times for his country before retiring in 2001.

He has had spells managing Wrexham and Doncaster but was axed by Wolves in 2013 after relegating the club to the Championship in 2013.

His last job came with Chesterfield in 2015, where he lasted just six months before being sacked.

Saunders is a regular on talkSPORT and was on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show as recently as Monday morning.