A SILSDEN man has been banned from driving for 32 months after he was caught driving while more than three times over the legal alcohol limit.

Christopher Lawson, 29, was stopped by police at Thackley Old Road in Shipley on March 21 while he was driving a VW Golf show car. When they tested his breath they found he had 122 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

He told police he had not intended to drive, but had been parked in an area he wasn't familiar with and where he didn't think his vehicle would be secure. He said he had only been looking for a safe place to park, but was stopped by police before doing so.

District Judge Susan Bouch said the alcohol reading was so high that guidelines advised a custodial sentence. But she added: "You have no previous conviction, and I am satisfied I can propose a community order."

He was ordered to complete 140 hours of unpaid work, and banned from driving.

He will also have to pay £85 costs.