A man who was almost three times over the legal drink drive limit was detained 200 metres from his home, resulting in a lengthy driving ban.

At around 7pm on August 24, at the Spar on Main Street, Ballinamallard, a shop assistant suspected a male driver of being drunk, and called the police.

The man – Edward David Martin (60), with an address of The Beeches, Ballinamallard – got into a Volkswagen Passat and drove out of the shop forecourt, and then back in again, Enniskillen Magistrates Court heard on Monday.

It was at this point that Martin was detained by an off-duty police officer before on-duty police arrived.

Martin's speech was slurred, his eyes were glazed, and there was a smell of intoxicating liquor, the court heard.

After failing a preliminary breath test Martin gave an evidential reading of 103mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

Ciaran Roddy, a barrister for Martin, said the high reading Martin gave was concerning, but he set it against the fact there was no adverse incident or standard of driving on his client's behalf.

He said Martin lived a short distance away – some 200 metres – and when asked why Martin did not walk home, Mr. Roddy said it was an extremely stupid decision on Martin's part, and one he very much regrets.

Deputy District Judge Laura Ievers expressed concerns that this was not the first time Martin had come to adverse attention before, and also that it was a very high reading.

For the charge of driving with excess alcohol in breath, Martin was fined £200 and banned from driving for 18 months.