A DRINK driver who had had three pints of lager was close to twice the limit when he was stopped by police after he went through a red light.

Paul Bloore, aged 28, of Meadow Close, Kempsey admitted driving with excess alcohol when he appeared before magistrates in Worcester.

He was behind the wheel of a Ford Focus when he was stopped in St Peter's Drive in Worcester on December 4.

He failed a roadside breath test and later an evidential specimen, obtained at the police station, showed he had 66mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, close to twice the limit of 35mcg. 

Ralph Robyns-Landricombe, prosecuting, said it was around 2am when an unmarked police car on the A4440 Whittington Road in Worcester close to junction 7 of the M5 saw the black Focus go through a red light in the lane adjacent to them and began to follow.

Mr Robyns-Landricombe said: "They could see it drifting in its lane and exceeding the speed limit by 10mph. Officers caused it to stop in St Peter's Drive. The driver admitted he had drunk about three pints of lager earlier in the evening."

The court heard Bloore had four previous convictions but nothing relevant to the offence, including 'three dishonesty matters and one public order matter'.

John Rogers, defending, described it as 'a straightforward case'. He said: "There was no accident involved, no other person in the motor vehicle."

The solicitor asked that credit be given for his client's co-operation at the roadside which continued at the police station.

"He had simply met with friends after work and had a few pints and was driving back to Kempsey when police stopped him. He has no recollection of going through the red light but I'm not instructed to argue against the facts," he said.

The cold room fitter had already made his employers aware of the circumstances of the offence and was 'unclear of his future with them' after the inevitable loss of his licence, Mr Rogers explained.

Magistrates banned Bloore from driving for 17 months, fined him £440, ordered him to pay costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £44. 

A drink-drive rehabilitation course was offered which, if completed successfully, will reduce the length of the ban by 17 weeks.