A DRINK driver had downed at least five bottles of Portuguese beer before he decided to drive 100 metres home, magistrates were told.

Police officers spotted Nerijus Slajus speeding in the early hours - and he later gave a breath test reading more than double the legal limit.

At Ely Magistrates’ Court, the fork lift truck driver admitted driving when over the alcohol limit in Brook Street at Soham on January 30.

Presiding magistrates Hamish Ross told Slajus: “What you did was despicable, and not acceptable; when you have 100 metres to travel, do not drive.”

Slajus, of Walnut court, Brook Street, Soham, was banned from driving for 20 months and fined �230 with a �15 surcharge and �85 costs.

Solicitor Jacqui Baldwin told the court: “He had drunk five or six bottles of Portuguese beer, but he did not feel drunk.

“He decided to drive, he accepts it was a wrong decision. He drove a very short distance, from a neighbour’s home to his own address.”