A MOTORIST who was just over the drink drive limit when he was involved in a crash has been banned from the roads for a year.

Darlington Magistrates’ Court heard today (Tuesday, November 27) that 63-year-old Maurice Johnson had a couple of drinks at a business meeting before driving home to Great Stainton, near Sedgefield - colliding with a car as he turned into his driveway at South Fields Farm.

Nobody was injured in the crash, which happened around 6pm on September 6, but police were called and Johnson failed a breath test, which found he had 82 milligrammes of alcohol in his blood. The legal limit is 80mg.

Magistrates heard Johnson, who works in the construction industry, travels thousands of miles around the country looking for work and had secured a contract on the day of the crash.

He pleaded guilty to driving over the legal limit and magistrates banned him from driving for a year, with the option to reduce it by three months if he completed a driver rehabilitation course.

He was also fined £480 with £105 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.