A FELIXSTOWE dad caught drink driving the day he discovered he was being made redundant from his £68,000-a-year job is banned from the road today.Jeremy Ratcliffe, 55, of Sunningdale Drive, was breathalysed by police during a random stop on Wherstead Road, Ipswich, at about 11pm on December 1.

A FELIXSTOWE dad caught drink driving the day he discovered he was being made redundant from his £68,000-a-year job is banned from the road today.

Jeremy Ratcliffe, 55, of Sunningdale Drive, was breathalysed by police during a random stop on Wherstead Road, Ipswich, at about 11pm on December 1.

The dad-of-two who was driving a silver Volkswagen Passat was found to have 43 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Ratcliffe, who admitted to police that he had drunk half a pint of cider after discovering he would need to find a new job, told South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court: “I haven't had any convictions of any kind in 35 years of driving.

“I discovered that day that I was to be made redundant on the First of January and rather strangely and unusually on the way home went [for a drink] with a few other members of the company who were in the same position after work.

“And I had a previous agreement to see my son performing in Ipswich and I went there later.”

Ratcliffe admitted he made a mistake by drinking and driving and told the court he was extremely sorry for his actions.

He was fined £600 and disqualified from driving for 12 months as well as being ordered to pay £43 towards prosecution costs.

Another drink driver who was banned after appearing at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court was Stephen Lockwood of Kingston Road in Ipswich.

Lockwood pleaded guilty to drink driving and was disqualified for 20 months, fined £300 as well as £100 for having no insurance, and also ordered to pay £43 in costs.

Weblink: www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk