A TOUGH message hit home to two drink drivers who were punished just before Christmas.Leslie Johnson, of Clarence Road, Ipswich and Paul Tyler, of Bury Close, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, appeared in court on Christmas Eve after getting behind the wheel after boozing.

A TOUGH message hit home to two drink drivers who were punished just before Christmas.

Leslie Johnson, of Clarence Road, Ipswich and Paul Tyler, of Bury Close, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, appeared in court on Christmas Eve after getting behind the wheel after boozing.

They are the latest to be named and shamed in The Evening Star's anti-drink driving Christmas campaign.

Both were rumbled after police received tip-offs from sharp-eyed members of the public.

Service engineer Tyler, 54, was nabbed in Black Horse Lane, Ipswich, after he attended a work call-out after drinking on December 19.

Tyler has lost his job and faces a £10,000 wage cut after seeking alternative employment.

Prosecutor Godfried Duah said Tyler was working when police received a call from a concerned person.

A breath test showed he was 77 mcg in 100 ml of breath – twice the legal limit of 35 mcg.

Ian Duckworth, mitigating, said: "He was working on a standby basis. He had one can at home and one watching model aeroplanes, which is his hobby, when he gets a call to go to Ipswich to work.

"Someone smelt alcohol and police were called."

He said the incident gave Tyler a wake up call and he has been in contact with Alcoholics Anonymous.

Magistrates sitting in Ipswich sentenced him to a two year driving ban and fined £400 after he admitted drink driving. He was also ordered to pay £70 costs.

Meanwhile Leslie Johnson, 51, was stopped by police in Nacton Road, Ipswich, and found to be 52 mcg in 100 ml of breath – the legal limit is 35 mcg.

Mr Duah said: "Police received a phone call from a member of the public that a man had been drinking in a public house and was likely to be going to drive off in a while. The vehicle details were relayed to the officers."

The court heard Johnson had driven in Newton Road and Salisbury Road before he was stopped.

Magistrates were told he was previously convicted of drink driving more than ten years ago on 12 February 1993, when he received a three year disqualification.

A character witnesses calling himself "Johnson's best friend" described the former RAF man as an "outstanding chap".

He has known Johnson for ten years but said he became a "changed man" after his mother passed away.

Johnson admitted drink driving on December 20.

South East Suffolk Magistrates, sitting in Ipswich, banned him from driving for a year and fined him £120.

He was also ordered to pay £30 costs.