A PENSIONER has been banned from the roads after a "strange sort of situation" saw him caught in his car while over the limit.

Leslie Alan Simpkins admitted one count of drink-driving when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford in January.

A member of the public had reported that he was drink-driving at 2.30am on New Year's Day, prosecutor Eleanor Peart told the court.

Officers were sent to Waterside in Credenhill, where they found Simpkins sat in the driving seat of his Nissan Qashqai.

He was arrested after failing a roadside breath test and taken to the police station, where an evidential breath test revealed he had 71 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

In interview, Simpkins told police had had drunk two pints before driving and had then fallen asleep in his car.

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George Cousins, for Simpkins, said it was a strange sort of situation that had seen the 68-year-old in court.

The court heard that the new year is a difficult time for Simpkins and that he had gone out for a couple of drinks with friends.

He had then been invited to go back to a friend's house, but had decided instead to head home, as one of the other guests had been giving him trouble, Mr Cousins said.

"He parked outside his house and did not want to go inside because there are too many memories," Mr Cousins said.

"He fell asleep in his car and then when he wakes up, some lads who have been harassing him are banging on his windows."

The court heard Simpkins, who is retired, does not know who called police.

Simpkins, who is of Waterside in Credenhill, was fined £150 and disqualified from driving for 18 months. He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £135 and a £60 victim surcharge.

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