Swann challenges blood test in drink-driving case

LONDON - England off-spinner Graeme Swann’s blood sample taken from him when he was allegedly caught drink driving may have been contaminated.

The off-spinner’s trial, which started in August, has faced several adjournments due to his cricketing commitments.

He claimed that he had drunk three or four glasses of white wine earlier in the evening to celebrate his birthday.

When he returned to his house in West Bridgford he found one of his wife’s cats stuck under the floor, the Daily Express reports.

Unable to find a screwdriver to help lift the floorboards, he decided to drive to the nearest 24-hour Asda store to buy a set, when he was stopped for a breath test.

His solicitor Phillip Lucas previously argued there was no case to answer because of two samples of blood taken that night, it was the second that was analysed when the first was suitable, the Daily Express reports.

That second sample showed 83mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg.

Lucas said there were three issues at stake - whether the second sample was admissible, whether it was reliable and whether Swann had given his consent for it to be taken.

District Judge Newton adjourned the case until today, when she is expected to reach a verdict, the Daily Express reports. (ANI)