A DRINK driver is today behind bars after getting behind the wheel drunk twice in as many days.Mark Barrett had downed three pints of premium strength lager and several brandies when he was caught more than double the drink drive limit in Stoke Street, Ipswich, at 2.

A DRINK driver is today behind bars after getting behind the wheel drunk twice in as many days.

Mark Barrett had downed three pints of premium strength lager and several brandies when he was caught more than double the drink drive limit in Stoke Street, Ipswich, at 2.30am on June 2.

But less than 24 hours after he was released on bail from a police station, officers caught him behind the wheel again, this time one-and-a-half times the legal limit.

Sentencing him, district judge David Cooper, said: “There is great uneasiness in the community towards drink drivers and I can understand that.

“I have to regard my duty towards the public and the occasional need for deterrent sentences, otherwise the public lose faith in the system.”

Barrett, 35, of Kemball Street, Ipswich, pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to provide a specimen and one of drink driving when he appeared before the court on Monday .

Gareth Davies, prosecuting, said: “He was arrested in Stoke Street at 2.30am on Saturday and breathalysed in the street. But he was then taken to Felixstowe police station and refused to give a specimen.

“He was released on bail and then seen in the same car in London Road at 10.30pm on Sunday. He was stopped, breathalysed and arrested again.”

On June 2 Barrett's test recorded he had 74micrograms of alcohol in 100millilitres of breath. On June 3 he recorded 57micrograms in 100millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35micrograms.

Nigel Inniss, mitigating, said: “On Saturday he gave someone a lift home after working as a DJ and was stopped by police.

“He said there was an atmosphere in the police station, an air of hostility, and so he refused to even take the test.

“On Sunday he had been to a family barbecue and once again offered to give someone a lift home. He didn't think he would be over the limit.”

Mr Inniss told the court that Barrett's cousin had died recently and he had taken to drinking every day to cope with the situation.

District judge David Cooper said: “On June 2 you were more than double the drink drive limit. Then on June 3 you were one-and-a-half times the limit. That shows disregard towards the public and the law.”

Barrett was sentenced to three months in prison and disqualified from driving for 18 months.