A drink-driver from Newmarket who was more than twice the legal limit, has been banned from driving for over three years and ordered to pay more than £1,200 in fines and other charges.

Isaac Holt, aged 23 and of Manderston Road appeared before Ipswich Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 1 September, where he was disqualified from driving for 40 months.

He was also fined £833 and ordered to pay a £333 victim surcharge, along with £85 costs, making a total of £1,251 in financial penalties.

The incident occurred earlier this summer, in the early hours of Saturday 11 July. At around 12.55am officers on patrol in High Street, Newmarket, spotted a black Mazda being driven erratically, in excess of the 30mph speed limit and overtaking other vehicles.

Officers requested the vehicle to stop and found Holt to be the driver. He then failed a roadside breath test and was taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre, where he provided an evidential sample of breath with a reading of 72 microgrammes of alcohol in 100millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg in 100ml.

PC Goreham, of the Forest Heath Response Investigation Team, said: “It was immediately obvious to us on seeing the car that the driver was not in proper control of the vehicle.

“The High Street was busy with people who had been for an evening out and someone driving erratically – and as we subsequently found under the influence of alcohol – presented a real danger to those members of the public.

“Drink/drug driving is one of the ‘Fatal 4’ main causes of serious or fatal collisions but we are still seeing too many people taking unnecessary risks. It was fortunate that no one was harmed on this occasion and the driver has now lost his licence for 40 months as a consequence of his actions.”