A VAN driver has been banned from the roads for three years after being caught over the drink drive legal limit for the second time in less than ten years.

Barry Marshall pleaded guilty to drink driving while twice over the legal limit when he appeared at Teesside Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

The 50-year-old, of Leyburn Road, Darlington, was stopped by police in the early hours of September 26 when he was making his way to work along the A66.

The court heard how he had been drinking with his brother the night before on the anniversary of their mother's death and thought that he would be able to drive. Marshall was banned from driving in 2007.

In mitigation, his solicitor Belinda Dobson told magistrates that Marshall pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and would lose his job as a result of the inevitable ban.

Marshall was banned for 36 months and fined £160 for the offence. He was also ordered to pay £20 victim surcharge, £85 court costs and £150 in criminal courts charge.