A HEREFORD drink-driver "did not realise" he was over the limit, a court has been told.

Shaun Warner entered a guilty plea to one count of driving while over the alcohol limit when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford in December.

Police had spotted Warner behind the wheel of a silver Ford Focus in Hereford's Holmer Road at 5.30am on November 20, prosecutor Mark Hambling told the court.

Mr Hambling said officers stopped him for minor traffic matters, and arrested him after he failed a roadside breath test.

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He was taken into custody at Hereford police station, where an evidential breath test revealed he had 47 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal driving limit is 35 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath.

Philip Cornell, for Warner, said the 34-year-old's case was a simple matter.

"He did not realise that he was over the limit," Mr Cornell told the magistrates.

"He obviously thought that he was not."

Mr Cornell said Warner is not currently working.

Warner, who is of River View, Hereford, was disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 12 months and fined £210.

He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £135 and a £48 victim surcharge, which is used to help fund services supporting victims of crime.

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