A CRICKLADE man found drinking a bottle of vodka in his car while parked on the side of the road has been banned from driving for three months.

A judge told Gary Chivers he would disqualify him because ‘the roads of Wiltshire are littered with flowers and mementos for dead young men'.

The 31-year-old, of Lady Mead, was found by officers with two others in the car on August 21. They had been to the pub and parked to drink the bottle of spirits.

Despite saying he had planned to sleep in his car, Chivers was found to be almost three times over the drink drive limit.

Vivian Thatcher, prosecuting at Swindon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, said: “Officers were on a routine patrol at around 12.15am when they came across a vehicle parked by the side of the road, with the defendant sitting in the driver's seat with the keys in the ignition.

“Other people were in the car and the normal signs of alcohol use were noted."

“There are no other aggravating features, and there are no previous convictions recorded.”

Wayne Hardy, defending Chivers, asked for him to be allowed to keep his licence.

“He was parked in a layby in an area of Swindon, and was in the driver's seat but the engine was not running,” he said.

“When the police spoke to him he asked the officer to breathalyse him, because he explained he had been there for some time consuming alcohol, and had planned on sleeping in his vehicle after an earlier argument with his parents.

“Initially he was suggesting he had no intention of driving his vehicle. He is a man of good character and has a clean driving licence.

“He had been in the pub earlier that day with friends and had one pint, fully aware that he would be driving. In the vehicle was a bottle of vodka which he consumed at the location.

“He works for the restaurant chain Frankie and Benny’s, and uses his vehicle to commute every day, an 18-mile round trip to his place of work.

"He would ask that you endorse his licence with 10 points, as if he is disqualified from driving he will have difficulty using public transport as there are no bus links.

“He lives at home with his parents, and has never before come to the attention of the courts.”

District Judge Simon Cooper opted to ban Chivers from the roads for three months.

“You were very nearly within a whisker of being three times over the limit,” he said. “You were in the driver's seat with the keys in the ignition. There were others in the car and you were drinking from a bottle of vodka.

“The roads of Wiltshire are littered with flowers and mementos for dead young men. That is why I am disqualifying you from driving.”

Chivers will also pay a fine of £300, costs of £85, a £30 victim surcharge and a criminal courts charge of £150.