AN Aberporth man has been banned from driving after he agreed to give a friend who couldn’t get a taxi a lift home.

Alan Gwyn George, of Wennol, Y Morlan Hotel, pleaded guilty to drink-driving on 9 December after he was breathalysed following a car crash while he was driving.

Kevin Challinor, prosecuting, said police attended at the crash scene at around 8pm on the B4333 Rhiw y Plas in Aberporth.

While while they asked George, 64, to take a routine breath test which turned out to be positive. A test at Aberystwyth Police Station showed that George had 43 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, with the legal limit being 35.

Iestyn Davies, defending George, said George, who is a retired builder with no previous convictions, had dinner with friends and had drunk alcohol.

When one of his friends couldn’t get a taxi home though George agreed to drive him, thinking that he would be below the drink drive limit.

Mr Davies said George has been helping his son’s building business in England and that a driving ban would make that more difficult.

George was disqualified from driving for 13 months and will pay a fine of £130 and costs of £115.