A MAN has been fined and disqualified from driving after being found drink driving in Downton.

Jose Sergio Pita, of Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth, was sentenced at Salisbury Magistrates' Court on Tuesday February 1 for driving when his alcohol level was above limit, driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence and using a vehicle without third party insurance.

The offences happened on the A338 Downton Road on January 14 of this year.

The court heard that around 11.45pm police followed a vehicle on a number of roads in Downton. The vehicle then went into the industrial estate and stopped near a business entrance.

Prosecuting, Ryan Seneviratne said officers approached the driver who they believed was under the influence from what they could smell and also the large size of his pupils.

Officers at the scene had to wait for a breath test to arrive but when a roadside test was carried out Pita was found to be over the limit and arrested.

A reading of 42 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath was taken.

The defendant, the court heard, had one drink that evening.

The vehicle, a VW Golf, was also found to have no insurance and Pita was not driving in accordance with the stipulations of a provisional licence which required him to be with a driver with a full licence and to have learner plates on display.

Mr Seneviratne said Pita, who was representing himself in court, had no previous convictions and there was no evidence of particularly bad driving and as it was later in the evening when there would have been less people around.

Addressing the magistrates, Pita, who works in construction, said: "It was my fault. I did wrong."

The 28-year-old was ordered to pay a fine of £450 along with a surcharge of £45 and costs of £85. He was also disqualified from driving for 12 months.

His disqualification could be reduced by 13 weeks if the defendant completes a driving course in the allotted time period.

No separate penalty was given for the offence of driving a vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence and driving without third party insurance. But his driving record was endorsed.

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