A SERIAL drink driver, who crashed into a car while on his way to pick up a sewing machine for his sister, is banned from the road today.

A SERIAL drink driver, who crashed into a car while on his way to pick up a sewing machine for his sister, is banned from the road today.

Tjarava Muhuka of Bramford Road, Ipswich crashed his friend's Ford Escort into another car in the town's Fonnereau Road and then drove away from the accident.

Gareth Davies, prosecuting, at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court said the driver of the damaged car followed Muhuka into a nearby car park and called the police.

“The defendant gave police a false name and address,” said Mr Davies. “Mr Muhuka smelt of alcohol so he was arrested on suspicion of driving while over the limit”.

A breath test revealed that Muhuka had 103 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Mr Davies said that in 2003 Muhuka was disqualified from driving for two years and fined £100 for drink driving. The 26-year-old was then convicted of driving while disqualified in 2004 and told to do unpaid work.

Muhuka, an information technology student from Namibia pleaded guilty to drink driving on December 2 this year, not having a full licence, not having any insurance and to obstructing a police officer.

Tanya Thomas, mitigating, said Muhuka who had overstayed his student visa had been on his way to pick up a sewing machine that he was going to send to his sister in Namibia. Mrs Thomas said Mahuka was also sending money to his mother and brother in Namibia.

She said: “He made a misjudgement that this was the only way he could collect this item, which he believed was very important”.

She added that Muhuka had only had one alcoholic drink but had been drinking to the early hours of that morning and had not realised he was over the limit.

Magistrates adjourned sentencing to December 28. A pre-sentence report was ordered and Mahuka was released from court on conditional bail until then.