AN Ipswich trucker has lost his licence and his job after driving while drunk.Bernard Garrod, 65, of Rosehill Crescent, told a court he had drunk three pints of beer at the Conservative Club then driven his Rover car.

AN Ipswich trucker has lost his licence and his job after driving while drunk.

Bernard Garrod, 65, of Rosehill Crescent, told a court he had drunk three pints of beer at the Conservative Club then driven his Rover car. Police stopped the car in Austin Street and a breath test revealed Garrod was almost twice over the legal limit.

Tests showed Garrod had 63 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.

Garrod pleaded guilty at South East Suffolk Magistrates' Court to driving with excess alcohol on May 11.

He said: "I did not think I was over the top." He added that he had been drinking the night before and must have "topped up".

The court heard that Garrod was a truck driver and would lose his job along with his licence.

Margaret Cutts, prosecuting, said Garrod had a previous conviction for drink driving in 1998 and there were currently six penalty points on his licence for two more recent speeding offences.

Garrod, who had earned £300 per week, was banned from driving for three years and fined £250. He was also ordered to pay £55 towards court costs.

He was told if he successfully completed the Vernon Mansfield drink drive rehabilitation course his disqualification would be reduced by nine months.