A VAN driver caught out on a busy Herefordshire crossroads while over the limit has been banned from the roads and ordered to carry out unpaid work.

Roland Panek entered a guilty plea to one count of driving while over the alcohol limit when he appeared before magistrates in Guildford.

The court heard from prosecutor Gus Walter that the 28-year-old had been caught out at Herefordshire's Trumpet Crossroads after getting behind the wheel of a red Volkswagen Crafter van while over the drink-driving limit on July 30.

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An evidential breath test revealed that Panek, who was represented at the hearing by defence solicitor David Burcombe, had 47 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Panek, of Waterside Road in Guildford, Surrey, was handed a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from driving for 15 months for the offence, with magistrates saying they had taken his guilty plea into account when imposing the penalty.

He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £114 victim surcharge.