A drink-driver has been fined £1,000 and banned from the roads for a year.

Jack Burgess appeared before Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood recently and entered a guilty plea to the offence.

The 20-year-old engineer, who lives at Woodbourne Road in Douglas, was also ordered to take an extended test at the end of his ban.

Prosecuting advocate Sara-Jayne Dodge told the court that police were on patrol on Victoria Road in Douglas on March 23, at 2am.

They saw Burgess driving a Vauxhall Corsa and he went straight across their path, causing the police car to take evasive action.

They stopped him and reported that he was smelling of alcohol, with three passengers in the car.

Burgess failed a roadside breathalyser test and was subsequently arrested.

At police headquarters, he took a further test which produced a reading of 48, above the legal limit of 35.

The court heard that he had no previous convictions.

Burgess was represented in court by duty advocate David Clegg, who said: ‘This is a young man of good character, who made a mistake that evening.’

The advocate said that Burgess had believed he would be under the limit and ok to drive.

Mr Clegg said that his client had accepted he would be getting a driving ban and had already spoken to his employer, and planned which buses he would need to get to travel to work.

The advocate went on to ask for credit to be given for the guilty plea.

Deputy High Bailiff Ms Braidwood told Burgess: ‘The consequences of your decision to drive are only going to affect you, but they could have affected others.

‘They could have affected your passengers and other people on the road.’

The defendant was also ordered to pay £125 prosecution costs.