A QUALITY control worker caught swerving across the A49 has been banned from the roads.

Robert Sliwnski admitted one count of drink-driving when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford in March.

He had been spotted swerving from side to side across the road as he drove a silver Mazda 5 on the A49 at Grafton in Herefordshire, prosecutor Mark Hambling said.

Hereford Times:

Officers pulled Sliwnski over and he was arrested after failing a roadside breath test.

An evidential breath test taken in custody revealed that he had 73 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, twice the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.

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Emma Thorne, for Sliwnski, said that the 49-year-old had described the incident as "entirely regrettable" and out of character.

"He had been at home with his wife that evening and had drunk some wine," Mrs Thorne said.

Hereford Times:

"They then had an argument and he decided to leave to get away from it. He got in his car and drove, but then did a U-turn because he realised he should not have been driving. He then passed a police car and was stopped."

Mrs Thorne said quality control worker Sliwnski had held a clean driving licence since 1990 and that losing it will make life difficult for him as his wife does not drive, but that he will still be able to get to work.

Sliwnski, of Stanberrow Road, Hereford, was fined £433 and disqualified from driving for 17 months. He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £135 and a £173 victim surcharge.