A HEREFORDSHIRE driver found sleeping in his car has been banned from the roads.

Marcin Filipe Dias De Almeida admitted failing to provide a sample to police when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

He had been found by police asleep in his car in the forecourt of a petrol station in Leominster at 6pm on January 7, prosecutor Shafquat Reaz said.

Officers roused him and reported he was unsteady on his feet and refused to provide a roadside breath sample.

Dias De Almeida was arrested and taken to Hereford Police Station, where he again refused to provide a sample.

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George Cousins, for Dias De Almeida, said the 31-year-old had been asleep in the car when he was woken by officers.

"From that point on he felt he had done nothing wrong and, like many others, wondered why he should have to give a sample. He accepts now that he should have done, and has a lot of regret as he does not believe he would have been over the limit.

The court heard a mandatory driving ban would leave Dias De Almeida, who is self employed and works with listed buildings, unable to carry out his job.

Dias De Almeida, of Edgar Street, Hereford, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined £120. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £34 victim surcharge.