The owner of an Ellesmere Port pub has received a driving ban after being caught over the limit on Christmas Eve.

Peter Andrews, of the Cheshire Yeoman, Welsh Road, Little Sutton, pleaded guilty to being more than twice the drink-drive limit.

Prosecuting at Chester Magistrates Court on Friday, January 19, Jessica Pridding said Andrews was seen in a supermarket car park "swigging from a bottle of alcohol" before driving on Pooltown Road.

Police were alerted and pulled Andrews's BMW over.

When speaking to police, the defendant's eyes appeared "glazed", Ms Pridding told the court.

A reading showed Andrews had 72 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, compared to the legal limit of 35.

Andrews had one previous conviction for eight food safety hygiene offences in 2016.

Defending, Catherine Higham said Andrews had no relevant previous convictions and there had never been any issue with his driving before.

The defendant was the proprietor of the Cheshire Yeoman pub, which had experienced difficulties during and after the pandemic, and was paying back business support loans. While the business had been making a loss, "they are getting back on their feet," the court heard.

Magistrates banned Andrews from driving for 20 months, with the offer of a drink-drive awareness course to reduce his ban by 20 weeks.

He was fined £100 and told to pay £120 court costs and a £40 victim surcharge.