A 45-year-old man from Royal Wootton Bassett has been disqualified from driving and ordered to pay hundreds of pounds for refusing to be breathalysed by police.

The officers had been called on July 15 after a witness saw a man they claimed to be intoxicated driving away in a Mercedes.

Police found the vehicle a mile away with the engine still warm. They tracked the defendant to his girlfriend’s home and asked him to take a breathalyser test.

Jerry Price from Hart Close appeared in Swindon Magistrates Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to the offence.

Prosecutor Pauline Lambert explained: “He was intoxicated and agitated and repeatedly refused to give a sample, then her was arrested and taken to the station where he refused again.”

His defence solicitor Emma Handslip argued that her client misunderstood the situation.

Ms Handslip said: “He knew he had been drinking and he believes he wasn’t driving the vehicle and so did not need to give a sample.

“I’ve had to spend a lot of time explaining the difference between drink driving and failing to give a sample.

“He did not understand why the police were at his door.”

Chairman of the bench Christine Smith disqualified the 45-year-old from driving for 17 months, which could be reduced if Price completes a drink-driving rehabilitation course.

He was also fined him £200 for his offence, plus £35 in costs and £30 for victims’ services.