A SUFFOLK man blackened a squeaky clean driving licence which he had held for nearly 40 years, because he had just two pints the day after a heavy drinking session and then got behind the wheel.

A SUFFOLK man blackened a squeaky clean driving licence which he had held for nearly 40 years, because he had just two pints the day after a heavy drinking session and then got behind the wheel.

Melvin Amoss, 55, of Brooklands Road, Brantham, was banned from driving for 18 months, fined £200 and ordered to pay £55 costs after he was caught behind the wheel of a Vauxhall van while two times over the legal drink-drive limit.

South East Suffolk magistrates, sitting in Ipswich, heard how the maintenance engineer had been drinking socially at home the night before and "forgot" about the perilous consequences of the top-up effect of alcohol consumed over a relatively short period.

Andrea Reynolds, for the prosecution, told the court how police spotted Amoss driving in an erratic manner along Slough Road in East End, East Bergholt, at around 10pm on October 29.

He was stopped along the A137 heading towards Brantham after he was noted to be driving "slowly and erratically and weaving across the road".

A test revealed he had 164 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80mgs in 100mls of blood.

Roger Stewart, for the defence, said that his client apologised for his conduct, which "besmirched an exceptional good driving record". He had held his licence for 38 years and used to drive up to 30,000 miles a year for his job.

"He says he had a maximum of two-and-a-half-pints and was on his way home when the incident occurred," he said.

"He had been drinking socially at home the day before and had forgotten the top-up effects of alcohol which took him above the limit on this particular occasion."

Amoss indicated his willingness to take part in a drink drive rehabilitation course, which magistrates ruled would reduce his driving ban by four months.