A DRINK-driver crashed into parked cars while twice the limit in Hereford.

Matthew Scotford admitted drink-driving when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

He had been driving his grey Fiat Bravo in Hereford's Grandstand Road when he crashed into a number of parked cars, prosecutor Elizabeth Blacklock said.

A witness called police to the scene where, Ms Blacklock said, Scotford was detained after trying to run off.

He was arrested after failing a roadside breath test and taken to custody, where an evidential breath test revealed he had 72 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

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Marilena Di Vitantonio, for Scotford, said the facts outlined by the prosecutor were mostly accepted, but that the 40-year-old said he had hit two cars and had not tried to flee the scene of the crash.

"He tells me he had gone to see a friend that evening, had a couple of drinks, and thought it would be ok, but clearly he was over the limit."

The court heard Scotford would be able to keep his employment, despite a mandatory roads ban, but that his earnings had gone down as his role had changed as a result of the expected ban.

Scotford, of Crest Court, Hereford, was fined £300 and disqualified from driving for 18 months. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.