A FINNISH meal soaked in vodka could have landed Longleat estate heir Viscount Weymouth with a drink-drive charge after he overtook a police van in his Maserati.
But the 27-year-old aristocrat was cleared of the charge on November 8 after three police officers, who were to have given evidence against him, failed to turn up to court.
Viscount Weymouth, son of Lord Bath, who has a drink-drive conviction from 1996, had pleaded not guilty to driving with excess alcohol in his breath after midnight on July 13.
His barrister, Montague Sherborne QC, told Horseferry Road Court the defence had intended to call an expert witness to show that had Viscount Weymouth knowingly consumed alcohol that night, he would not have been over the limit.
A breathalyser test after his arrest had shown he had an alcohol count of 52 micrograms 17 points over the limit.
When Judge Keating suggested alcohol evaporates when cooked, the barrister said the vodka was added to the dish after cooking.
The judge refused prosecutor Nick Mather's application for an adjournment.
Mr Mather offered no evidence against Viscount Weymouth and the charge was dismissed.
Judge Keating awarded the viscount costs of £1,000 including the expert witness's £400 fee either out of public funds or against the Crown Prosecution Service.
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