A DRINK-DRIVER was three times the limit when he was caught on a busy Herefordshire dual carriageway.

Andrew William Phillips admitted drink-driving when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police spotted him swerving across white lines at about 60 miles per hour on the A40 near Ross-on-Wye at 80m on August 7, prosecutor Elizabeth Blacklock said.

They turned on their lights and followed him some distance before he pulled over at the side of the road.

Phillips was arrested after failing a roadside breath test, and an evidential test in custody revealed he had 104 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Marilena Di Vitantonio, for Phillips, said the 53-year-old had been contacted that evening by a very distressed friend in Ross-on-Wye who had asked him to come over.

"He first said no because he had been drinking, but then a family member of that person called him and demanded he went to them. He again refused but then did take the decision to drive.

"He knows he should not have done that and accepts his actions were wrong.

Phillips, of Carbonne Close, Monmouth, was disqualified from driving for 25 months and received a four month community order and curfew with electronic tag. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £95 victim surcharge.