MAGISTRATES in Chester have urged young people not to drink and drive saying there have been too many offenders passing through the courts.

The bench at Chester Magistrates Court issued its warning while sentencing a 20-year-old defendant from Norley.

Simon Jones, of Delamere Road, Norley, pleaded guilty to driving his Renault Clio with almost twice the legal limit of alcohol in his system on December 12.

He was stopped on Lache Lane at around 3.35am as he travelled between friends' houses in Handbridge and Lache in Chester.

Jones was fined £120 and banned from driving for 17 months. He was also ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £30 victim surcharge.

Magistrates told him: “We see far too many of these cases in court. Pass on to your friends that it's not worth the risk.”

Police officers initially pulled him over as he had a broken tail light but asked him to provide a specimen after smelling alcohol.

The court heard that Jones was arrested after failing to comply with the roadside breath test as he “was not breathing into the tube properly”.

He later provided two specimens while in custody which showed he had 62 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Steve Coupe, defending, said his client had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

He also stressed the failure to comply with the roadside test was down to “nerves and anxiety” rather than a deliberate attempt to avoid providing a specimen.

“Sadly this is an all-too-familiar case of a young man who thought he was okay to drive on the night,” Mr Coupe said.

“The irony is he could easily have walked that distance between Handbridge and Lache.”

Jones stood to lose his job as a delivery driver, Mr Coupe added.