Shamed ex-footballer Dean Saunders left jail today only 24 hours into his 10-week jail sentence, as footage of his drink-driving arrest has emerged.
He was bailed after his lawyers made an application to a judge when he was jailed yesterday at Chester Magistrates’ Court.
The former Liverpool striker was seen leaving Altcourse Prison, near Liverpool, at around 5pm today before jumping into the passenger seat of Audi and driving off.
Police had pulled the sports pundit over after noticing his ‘atrocious’ driving in Chester city centre on May 10.
In footage released by the Crown Prosecution Service, which shows the time as 00.50am in the morning, an officer can be heard saying to Saunders: ‘Come and get out of the car. You driving is atrocious, have you had any alcohol?’
‘I’ve only had one pint,’ Saunders replies.
Shamed ex-footballer Dean Saunders, 55, was spotted leaving jail today – less than 24 hours into a 10-week jail sentence after his lawyers made a successful application for bail during his appeal
Two officers walk him over to sit in the back seat of their vehicle, with one saying ‘You can’t even stand up’.
After returning the police station, Saunders refused to provide a breath sample, asking for his solicitor.
‘Am I doing the right thing or am I getting myself in more trouble by not doing it?’ he asked another officer on reception.
‘You’ve got the opportunity right now in the room to provide (a sample)… and if not, then you will be prosecuted for failing to provide,’ they reply.
‘If I don’t do it right now… am I going to get in more s***?’
A female officer can only respond ‘You will be charged with an offence.’
In footage released by the Crown Prosecution Service, which shows the time as 00.50am in the morning, an officer can be heard saying: ‘Come and get out of the car. You driving is atrocious, have you had any alcohol?’
After returning the police station, Saunders refused to provide a breath sample, asking for his solicitor. ‘Am I doing the right thing or am I getting myself in more trouble by not doing it?’ he asked an officer on reception.
The 55-year-old had looked crestfallen when he realised he was going to jail, and was branded ‘arrogant’ by District Judge Nicholas Sanders.
The judge told Saunders he had shown no remorse and considered himself ‘above the law’.
The former Liverpool striker was jailed after he refused to take a breathalyser when he was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving in his £70,000 Audi A8 in Boughton, Chester, on May 10.
The ex-Welsh international was caught on police bodycam footage slurring his speech and propping himself up against his car when he was asked to get out of the vehicle.
Lawyers for Saunders, who also played for Aston Villa and Derby County and was capped by Wales 75 times, appealed the jail sentence as ‘excessive’ and described the defendant as ‘in shock’.
They launched a bail application today, held in private without access to press or public.
Judge Steven Everett granted Saunders bail until his appeal against the jail sentence is heard on October 4.
Sanders was seen leaving Altcourse Prison, near Liverpool, at around 5pm today before jumping into the passenger seat of Audi and driving off
Saunders (pictured arriving at court today), entered his guilty plea at the eleventh hour
The details were confirmed by Saunders’s solicitor, Conor Johnstone, who added: ‘Clearly, he will be relieved.’
No bail conditions were imposed, Mr Johnstone said.
Saunders said he had been out at Chester Races and had drunk three pints over the day before getting in his Audi A8 and deciding to drive.
He was seen shortly before 1am by a police patrol weaving across the road, swerving to avoid other vehicles and almost causing an accident.
Officers who arrested him said there was a smell of ‘intoxicants’ and Saunders was slurring his speech and had to steady himself against his car when he was asked to get out of the vehicle.
Saunders is also a regular pundit on talkSPORT (pictured). He had denied both charges but was jailed and banned from the road today
Saunders in the stands watching his son Callum play for Crewe Alexandra in 2015
He refused three times to give a roadside breath test and was arrested. He again failed to provide a specimen at the police station.
The 55-year-old said he had been out at the Chester Races and had ‘drunk two pints’ but claimed his asthma prevented him from giving a breath sample. However he failed to tell officers about his condition when he was arrested.
The talkSPORT radio football pundit had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing.
But earlier this week admitted a charge of failing to comply with a roadside breath test and failing to provide a breath sample for analysis in Boughton, Chester, in the early hours of May 10 this year.
He was also banned from driving for 30 months and ordered to pay court costs of £620.
Saunders (pictured in 2015) narrowly avoided an accident when he got behind the wheel after a day at the races