A BMW driving plasterer has been banned from the roads after going for drinks with friends.

Mantas Arlauskas admitted drink-driving when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

Police in an unmarked car had come across Arlauskas' white BMW in Hereford's Haywood Lane at 9.30pm on March 28, prosecutor Mark Hambling said.

Driver Arlauskas was arrested after failing a roadside breath test and taken to Hereford police station, where an evidential test revealed he had 89 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

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Marilena Di Vitantonio, for Arlauskas, said the 32-year-old had met a friend for a few drinks and had not planned to drive, but thought he would be ok and changed his mind.

"Police were informed of this and followed him," Miss Di Vitantonio said.

"It is fair to say he has had a difficult couple of years. He was employed as an engineer and lost his job due to Covid. He has retrained as a plasterer and his job does include driving, but he works in a team and is hoping he will be able to keep working."

Arlauskas, of Glastonbury Close, Belmont, was fined £400 and disqualified from driving for 22 months. He must also pay costs of £135 and a £40 victim surcharge.