A drink-driver who was more than double the legal limit has been fined £1,500 and banned from the roads for three years.

Forty-five-year-old Alan Glen Jessop appeared at Douglas Courthouse on Tuesday, December 10, pleading guilty to the offence.

Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood also ordered him to take an extended test at the end of his ban and to complete a drink-driving rehabilitation course.

Prosecuting advocate Sara-Jayne Dodge told the court that police saw the defendant driving a Vauxhall Corsa, on Peel Road in Douglas, at 10.55pm on November 30.

They initially followed him because of an issue with a headlight and spoke to him after he pulled in at Ellan Vannin Fuels.

Officers reported that Jessop stumbled as he got out of the car, but he denied this in court.

He was described as smelling of alcohol and unsteady on his feet and admitted to police that he had been drinking around 20 minutes earlier.

Jessop, who lives at Snaefell Road in Douglas, failed a roadside breathalyser test and was subsequently arrested.

He was taken to police headquarters, where a further test produced a reading of 77, more than twice the legal limit of 35.

Defence advocate Stephen Wood asked for credit to be given for his client’s guilty plea, as well as his co-operation with the police at the roadside, and at the police station.

The advocate said that his client was likely to now lose his job, through his inability to drive, which would come as a result of the inevitable ban.

Mr Wood said that his client denied stumbling when he got out of the car, that there had been no report of poor driving, and no-one else was in the car.

Deputy High Bailiff Ms Braidwood also ordered Jessop to pay £125 prosecution costs, which he will pay, along with the fine, at a rate of £25 per week.