A DRINK-driver has been banned from the roads after he was caught out on a Herefordshire border road two days before Christmas.

Samuel Johnson entered a guilty plea to one count of driving while over the alcohol limit when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford in January.

The court heard from prosecutor Lauren Millichip that the 48-year-old, who was represented at the hearing by defence solicitor Matt Lewis, had been caught out on the A465 from the C1054 to the Shropshire boundary at Little Hereford after getting behind the wheel of a Volkswagen Golf while over the drink-driving limit on December 23.

An evidential breath test revealed that he had 44 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Johnson, of Hendford Road in Bournemouth, Dorset, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined £80 for the offence, with magistrates saying that they had taken his guilty plea to the charge into account when deciding on the penalty.

He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £135 and a £32 victim surcharge.