LOSING his job and girlfriend in the same day proved too much for a Suffolk man who crashed into a tree after driving drunk.Simon Bourdon, 41, of Main Road, Woolverstone, took to the road more than two and a half times the legal limit after drinking a mixture of beer and wine.

LOSING his job and girlfriend in the same day proved too much for a Suffolk man who crashed into a tree after driving drunk.

Simon Bourdon, 41, of Main Road, Woolverstone, took to the road more than two and a half times the legal limit after drinking a mixture of beer and wine.

Appearing at South East Suffolk Magistrates Court yesterday Bourdon admitted a charge of driving while above the legal limit.

The court heard Bourdon was made redundant from his job on June 20 last year.

Lesla Small, prosecuting, said: "On that Friday he had been laid off, and he went to his local shop where he brought a number of bottles of Stella Artois and a bottle of white wine.

"He split up with his girlfriend during a telephone conversation later that day."

The court heard how Bourdon, having drunk the alcohol, then took some sleeping tablets and went to sleep.

When he woke up in the early hours of the morning he decided to go and visit his ex in Woolverstone marina.

Ms Small said: "He got there and had second thoughts so got back in his car. During the drive home he saw an animal in the road and swerved to avoid it. In doing so, he crashed his vehicle."

Bourdon sustained facial injuries in the crash, which happened on the B1456 at around 2.55am, and was taken to Ipswich Hospital. A blood test confirmed that he had 208 milligrammes of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrammes.

Tanya Thomas, mitigating, said: "Clearly, this was a somewhat disastrous day. In the one day he lost his job and broke up with his girlfriend."

The court heard how Bourdon was still suffering breathing difficulties from the injuries he sustained in the crash and is due to undergo surgery.

Sentencing Bourdon, chair of the bench Kate Redmond, said: "The court takes drink driving very seriously and this was a very large, very high reading. Luckily, no one else was involved in the accident."

Bourdon was given a three month curfew order, restricting him to his house between the hours of 7pm and 7am. He was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service and banned from driving for four years.