A man who was almost four times the legal drink-drive limit has been disqualified from driving for 20 months.

On the evening of July 10 last, police were tasked to the Boal Island Road, Kesh.

While there, they spoke with Darren Noonan (49), of Ballybriest Road, Cookstown, who was in a vehicle parked up in a layby.

He was sitting in the driver’s seat of the car and police observed that there was a smell of intoxicating liquor, his speech was slurred, and his eyes were red.

The keys were in the ignition of the car, but the engine was not running.

Noonan failed a preliminary breath test before being arrested and cautioned.

An evidential reading was then taken, and Noonan returned 124mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The drink-drive limit is 35mg in 100ml of breath.

During interview, Noonan admitted to drinking some cans of Tennents and consuming alcohol in the car.

Stephen Fitzpatrick, Noonan’s barrister, accepted it was a high reading before pointing out that Noonan lived 11-12 miles from his work and was dependent on driving to get there. His wife was also dependent on him to get to work.

He added that Noonan had been driving for 30 years, and had been on a fishing-camping trip with friends at the time.

For being in charge of a vehicle with excess alcohol in his breath, Noonan was banned from driving for 20 months, and fined £300.