A Portadown man has been banned from the roads for a year after being caught driving whilst over three times the legal limit.
James McConnell, of Princess Way, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol in breath at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
The court heard police saw the defendant driving a car in an “erratic way” on Princess Way on July 10 at around 1.40 am.
Officers spoke to 32-year-old McConnell, and noted that he smelled of alcohol, his eyes were glazed and he had slurred speech.
A preliminary breath test was carried out which the defendant failed.
Later McConnell gave an evidential reading of 108mgs in 100mls of breath.
Defence counsel accepted that it was a “high reading” and that this would be an “aggravating feature”.
He explained that on this night the defendant had been “drinking with a friend when he made the stupid decision to drive home”.
It was heard that McConnell accepted he had “a problem with alcohol” and had no live points on his licence.
The defendant was given a 12-month driving ban and was ordered to pay a fine of £350, along with the offender’s levy of £15, within 12 weeks.
