A HEREFORD drink-driver took someone else’s truck and drove it while over the alcohol limit, uninsured and disqualified, a court heard.

Ryan Barton, 39, of Blackfriars Street, Hereford, was caught drink-driving in a Ford Ranger Wildtrak truck he took from someone else without their permission on January 7. He was caught in Commercial Road.

Barton’s offences were so serious that only a jail term could be justified, Hereford magistrates heard on April 9.

Prosecutor Lauren Millichip said the defendant had a high number of offences of driving while disqualified.

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Barton was found to be almost two-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive limit, said the prosecutor. He had a breath test reading of 86 microgrammes (mg) per 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit being 35 mg.

Magistrates took Barton’s guilty pleas into account, as he admitted one count of driving while disqualified, using a motor vehicle on a road without insurance, driving a motor vehicle with an alcohol level above the limit and taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent.

Magistrates jailed Barton for eight weeks and disqualified him from driving for four years. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £154.