A MAN sat in a stationary car was charged with drink-driving by police, Ely magistrates were told. Officers spotted 21-year-old Harry Ford using his mobile phone behind the wheel of his vehicle, which was parked at a petrol station on the Fordham by-pass,

A MAN sat in a stationary car was charged with drink-driving by police, Ely magistrates were told.

Officers spotted 21-year-old Harry Ford using his mobile phone behind the wheel of his vehicle, which was parked at a petrol station on the Fordham by-pass, and went to speak to him.

Crown prosecutor Delia Matthews said the police immediately smelt alcohol and ordered Ford to perform a road-side breath test, which he failed.

Police then watched CCTV footage of Ford drive into the forecourt in the early hours of April 13 and he was charged with drink-driving.

He pleaded guilty when he appeared at Ely Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Mrs Matthews said: "Mr Ford told police he had four pints of lager in De Niro's nightclub in Newmarket and that it was a matter of stupidity that he had decided to take the risk and drive."

Ford's breath sample showed him to have 54mg of alcohol per 100mg of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Adam Hazelhurst said in mitigation for Ford: "He had three or four bottles of beer in the nightclub, where he had met up with his sister. He had planned to get a taxi home but he felt in himself fit and able to drive and has found that to be a fairly foolish decision.

"There was no suggestion that he had been driving erratically or that he had been in an accident."

The magistrates banned Ford from driving for 16 months and fined �400. He will also pay �70 court costs and a �15 victim surcharge.