A WORCESTER man has been banned from driving after he was caught two and a half times over the legal limit.
Pawel Strzala, of The Tything in Worcester, pleaded guilty to driving a car when over the legal limit and without insurance at Worcester Magistrates Court on Friday (April 22).
On April 1, the 26-year-old was caught with 88 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath (the limit being 35 mcg) when police stopped him on George Street after reports of “erratic” driving, said prosecutor, Adrian Jones.
He said: “At 4.20am, officers saw the car, a Peugeot 206, driving on George Street. There was nothing untoward about his driving but reports had said the driving was erratic and they wanted to check his details.
“They could smell alcohol and the roadside breath test blew 88mcg. The car had no insurance and it was seized by police.”
Defending, Sunil Jagatia, said: “The incident occurred on his birthday. He had purchased the vehicle a few days before for a cheap price. His plan was to do it up and turn it around.
“He had friends round the night before and they started drinking. When they left, he was feeling merry and decided to see if the car was running okay.
“He apologised to police once he had sobered up. He is a man of previous good character. His intention was never to drive the car anywhere, it was just to do it up and sell it on. That is why there was no insurance on it.”
For both charges, Strzala was handed a 20-month ban, a £400 fine and six points on his licence.
He was also ordered to pay £135 in court costs and a £20 victim surcharge.
