A widowed drink driver accepted he made a 'big mistake' when he got behind the wheel on a trip to buy dog food for his puppies after sinking a few pints at his local social club.
David Farmer admitted driving with excess alcohol when he appeared at Worcester Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The 59-year-old was behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Caddy van in Monarch Drive in Worcester on Sunday, October 31 this year.
After failing a roadside breath test, an evidential reading at Worcester Police Station showed 56mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, over the legal limit of 35mcg.
Farmer of Brownes Way, Hallow, also had a previous conviction for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle.
Mark Hambling, who prosecuted the case, said Farmer was stopped by officers at 5.30pm after they witnessed him make a manoeuvre, the defendant telling them he had drunk 'two to three pints at the Hallow Sports and Social Club and was on his way home'.
Farmer was drunk in charge of a vehicle in north Yorkshire which resulted in his licence being endorsed with 10 penalty points following his conviction on November 23 last year.
The defendant, who represented himself, explained that he had lost his wife four years ago to leukaemia and that he had a business employing nine staff. He explained that during the previous incident in Yorkshire 'I did not physically get into the car to drive it' and was getting shopping out when he was confronted by an off-duty police officer.
"I got a bit irate because my partner came along and started having a go at the police officer. At that point he decided to ring the police" said Farmer.
Speaking of the drink driving, he said: "On this occasion I had a drink in the village pub. The only reason why I went was to get some dog food for my two puppies - big mistake basically."
Magistrates banned him from driving for 12 months. However, they did offer him a drink drive rehabilitation course which, if completed successfully at his own expense, will reduce the length of the disqualification by three months.
He was fined £500, ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £50 and costs of £135.
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