Derry driver caught 'five times' over drink-drive limit
A 32-year-old telecommunications manager has been banned from driving after being caught almost five times over the legal drink driving limit.
David Jamison, from Foyle Crescent in Newbuildings, pleaded guilty at Londonderry Magistrates Court to driving while unfit due to alcohol.
The court was told that Jamison's breathalyser reading was 157 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath.
The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
Judge Barney McElholm said he believed it to be one of the highest alcohol levels ever to come before the court.
"I would have guessed that would have been fable but obviously not.
"I am not sure if I have seen or encountered a higher reading."
A police officer told the court on Wednesday that police on patrol in the Bogside area of Derry on the night of 2 October saw Jamison driving his car in an "erratic manner".
The car was stopped on Bishop Street and Jamison was taken into custody.
A defence solicitor said Jamison started drinking heavily following the death of his mother in August.
Jamison, who had a relevant previous conviction in 2002, was disqualified from driving for four years and fined £500.