AN accountant, with a conviction for drink-driving, was caught almost twice over the legal alcohol limit a minute after midnight on Christmas morning, a court heard.

Hartlepool Magistrates' Court was told yesterday how Stuart Temple, 28, was stopped by police officers during a routine check on the A689 Stockton to Hartlepool road.

Temple, of Tennyson Road, Haswell, London, was found to be almost twice over the drink-drive limit, after giving a breath test to a police officer who had detected a smell of alcohol on his breath.

Prosecuting, Alan Rutters said: "He was almost two times over the legal limit. It was the first minute of Christmas Day and he was driving his car on the A689 when he was stopped by a police officer.

"The officer could smell alcohol on his breath and gave a roadside test, which was positive."

Temple pleaded guilty to a charge of drink-driving.

Martin Scarborough, representing Temple, said that his client had remained calm when he was stopped by the police and later arrested.

He said: "Mr Temple did not believe he was over the limit. He works in London, as an accountant, and his family live up here.

"He drove up here on Christmas Eve, to visit friends in the Hartlepool area. He had some cans of beer, which he believed was only equal to two pints.

"He also had nothing to eat. Sometimes, having nothing in the stomach makes breathalyser readings a bit higher.

"He was driving from one friend to another when he was spot-checked. There was no suggestion he was driving erratically."

The court was told that Temple had been convicted of drink-driving in May last year at a court in Nottingham, where he had been fined £300 and disqualified from driving for a year.

The magistrates banned Temple from driving for three years and ordered him to pay a fine of £500, as well as £50 towards costs.

He was also advised to apply to take part in an eight-week drink-driving rehabilitation scheme within the next two years, in order to be eligible for a reduction of his driving ban