Drink driver spotted on wrong side of road in early hours of morning had been celebrating his brother's visit to UK court told

Donatas Klovas, who is from Lithuania, told police he had had two bottles of Peroni, but he had probably had three.

The town’s magistrates were told officers had seen Klovas speeding up and braking and stopped him.

The 25-year-old dad -of-one, who had a passenger, was asked to step out of the vehicle and to remove his keys from the ignition. He did so, dropped them on the floor and when he bent down to pick them up he lost his balance and had to steady himself by holding the car door.

Mrs Philippa White, prosecuting, said: "Due to the manner of his driving, he smelled of alcohol and seemed somewhat unsteady, they asked for a specimen of breath.

"He gave a positive roadside test and was arrested."

She said the defendant was taken to the police station, where the lower of two test readings was 40 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35. He had no previous convictions.

Mr David Lawson, defending, told the hearing Klovas had been celebrating his brother’s visit.

The solicitor continued: "”Over the course of the evening, he estimates he had three bottles of Peroni.

"He felt fit to drive. He was unfamiliar with the roads and he was driving slowly in order to gain an understanding of where he wanted to go.”

Mr Lawson said: "He is in employment. He works for DHL in Manchester and the inevitable disqualification is going to cause him and his family significant hardship.

"It’s likely he is going to have to look for alternative employment near home.”

Klovas, of Melville Street, Burnley, admitted driving with excess alcohol on Nelson Road, Briercliffe, on August 1st.

He was fined £334, with £85 costs and a £33 victim surcharge and was banned for 12 months.