A 54-year-old man from Bellaghy has been disqualified from driving for 18 months and fined £200 after he admitted driving with excess alcohol in Derry.

Alan Clark, of Deerpark Road, pleaded guilty to the offence, which occurred at Rosses Gate on 12 January.

Derry Magistrates' Court heard that police were already at Rosses Gate on an unrelated matter when they received a report about a suspected intoxicated man in a van.

Officers approached the van and found Clark in the driver's seat. They detected a smell of alcohol and initially intended to arrest him for being drunk in charge of a vehicle.

When asked how the van had arrived there, Clark replied that he had driven it, leading to his arrest for driving with excess alcohol.

A preliminary roadside breath test gave a reading of 193 milligrammes, but the evidential sample recorded 141 milligrammes, approximately four times the legal limit.

Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley told the court that Clark was only charged after his own admission. He said the defendant had been dealing with alcohol issues but was now taking steps to address them, and had a clean driving record of 35 years.

District Judge Oonagh Mullan acknowledged that it was a high reading but said she would keep the disqualification period to a minimum because of Clark's previously unblemished record.

Clark was banned from driving for 18 months and ordered to pay a £200 fine.