After driving home, Keith Philip Addison (45) was found to be more than double the drink-drive limit following a breathalyser test by the States police.
Addison, a roofer, who appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, pleaded guilty to drink-driving.
Legal adviser Lauren Hallam, prosecuting, told the court that on 26 May at 5pm a member of the public saw Addison in the car park of the Co-op at Val Plaisant.
She said the witness saw him stumbling to his car and that he had come out of the shop with a multi-pack of lager.
The member of public then saw his car drive off in the direction of Trinity Hill and she followed him, the court heard.
The police were called and shortly after 5.30pm they spoke to Addison at his home, where he said he had drunk two cans of lager since returning from the shop.
He was taken to police headquarters where a breath test revealed he had 91 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
Analysis by the police found that even without the two cans he said he had consumed after driving, he would still have given a reading of 77mg and been over the drink-drive limit.
Advocate Francesca Pinel, defending, asked the court to sentence her client on the revised 77mg reading.
She said her client admitted the offence, and that he had been drinking the previous evening and was drinking the following morning to alleviate that. She added Addison did not feel like he was over the limit and that had he known that he
was, he would not have got behind the wheel.
Advocate Pinel added: ‘This is an eye opener for Mr Addison. He has reflected on it in the past four months. He is sorry for the situation and regrets his actions.’
Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris said the court would pass sentence based on the lower breathalyser reading. Addison was given a two-year driving ban.
He was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of community service.
