A BANNED Herefordshire driver was seen straying across the road after an afternoon of drinking.

David George Oliver Lewis pleaded guilty to charges of drink-driving, driving while disqualified, and driving without insurance when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police were called at around 7.25pm on October 2 by a passenger in a car following the 37-year-old's Ford Fiesta as he travelled towards Hereford, prosecutor Ralph Robyns Landricombe said.

The witness said they were concerned about the manner of Lewis' driving and told officers that he had been straying across the road and hitting the verge.

They told officers they had followed the car to its home address and gave them a description of the driver.

A check on the vehicle, which was found parked on the pavement outside Lewis' house revealed it was registered to Lewis and had no insurance, and also that Lewis was a disqualified driver.

Lewis, who denied having driven the car, was arrested after refusing to provide a breath sample and for driving without insurance and while disqualified, while the car's keys were found in his pocket.

A breath sample taken in custody revealed Lewis had 98 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

In police interview, Lewis admitted he had been driving and said he had been drinking since 1pm that day and that he knew he would be over the limit.

Lewis, of South Bank, Whitestone, was disqualified from driving for 40 months and handed a 12-month community order with 150 hours of unpaid work.

He must also pay costs of £135 and a £95 victim surcharge.