Cricketer Swann ‘drove drunk’ to save his cat

A court has heard how England cricketer Graeme Swann was on a 'mercy dash' to save his pet cat, which had become stuck under floorboards, when he was arrested for drink driving in April.

The spinner, who was stopped in a white Porsche Cayenne in West Bridgford on the outskirts of Nottingham in the early hours of the morning, told officers that he was on the way to a 24-hour Asda in order to buy some screwdrivers to free his cat when he was pulled over.

His trial at Nottingham magistrates heard how police had stopped Swann on April 2 because he was in a high-powered sports car in an area where there had been a string of burglaries. PC Steven Denniss told the court that Swann had accelerated when he tried to stop him but that he had then pulled over.

When Swann got out of the car he was clutching a set of screwdrivers and had slightly slurred speech.

PC Denniss said: "Mr Swann stated he had been out that evening and had come back to find his cat trapped under the floorboards in his house. He had gone to Asda to fetch some screwdrivers to remove some floorboards... He was slightly upset due to the fact of his cat and what had just happened."

PC Denniss said that Swann admitted that he "shouldn't have probably been driving".

Swann, who denies the charge of drink driving, tested 45 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 milligrams. A later blood test found he had 83mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg.

The 31-year-old spinner was voted England player of the year in May after a sensational year in which he took 99 wiockets in 45 games for the national side and established himself as one of the most dangerous bowlers in the world and a destructive lower order batsman. ·