A WREXHAM drink-driver stopped off at the pub to 'top up' before going to pick up a friend, a court heard.

Christopher Ridings, of Derwent Crescent, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Monday.

The 42-year-old admitted that he drove a Peugeot 208 on Chester Road in Wrexham earlier this month when the proportion of alcohol in his breath exceeded the prescribed limit.

He was found to have 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the limit being 35.

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Molly Rumsey, prosecuting, told the court that at around 9.15pm on February 4, the defendant came to the attention of police due to the manner of his driving.

His vehicle was "swaying" in the road and crossing the central white line.
When he was pulled over, his words were slurred and his eyes appeared "glazed over."

He was tested for alcohol, which ultimately led to his drink-driving charge.

Victoria Handley, defending, told the court her client accepted he'd been "drinking the night before, heavily."

She continued: "He had been drinking through the night and the next evening he was called on to pick a friend up.

"He walked to the pub, where he'd left his car the last night - but then he went into the pub and had another two pints before collecting his vehicle.

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The Leader:

"He was 'topping up' from the night before.

"He has since bought himself a breathalyser as he was so surprised that he was so over the limit."

Ms Handley said Ridings, a delivery driver, would likely lose his job as a result of the driving ban the court was obliged to impose.

Ridings was banned for 20 months and ordered to pay a £311 fine - in addition to £85 costs and a £124 victim surcharge.