A DRINK-driver who was almost four times the legal limit when police found him lying on a pavement has been spared jail.

Jamie Newton, of Giants Seat Grove in Swinton, Manchester, appeared at Mold Magistrates Court on Thursday.

The 50-year-old admitted that on October 27, at Green Lane East in Sealand, he drove a motor vehicle after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath exceeded the prescribed limit.

A member of the public spotted Newton driving a black Volkswagen work vehicle on the Welsh Road Roundabout shortly before 4pm.

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The defendant pulled out in front of a vehicle and then proceeded onto Green Lane East.

Prosecutor Rhian Jackson said the woman who witnessed his driving was concerned because his wing mirror appeared to be damaged.

Newton went on to "swerve" on the road and mount the central reservation before pulling over and getting out to sit on the pavement.

The witness wanted to see if he was ok, because he had no shoes on and "something was not right" about him.

But the defendant told her he needed "half an hour" and he'd be ok, refusing her help.

The police were called and when they arrived, Newton was lying half on the pavement and half on the road - appearing "heavily intoxicated" and "not fully lucid."

When his breath was tested, it turned out he had 135 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the limit being 35.

In interview, he said he'd been driving to visit a friend in Mold and admitted to drinking before he left, as well as stopping at a service station to drink more.

Probation officer Pamela Roberts said the defendant had been in a "bad place" at the time and was "feeling low."

"He does not view himself as a dependent drinker," she said.

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The court heard Newton had a previous similar conviction, and had been offered a drink-drive rehabilitation course on that occasion.

Ms Roberts said: "It seems he hasn't taken on board the learning."

Craig Hutchinson, defending, told the court: "It's an odd case - the member of the public was concerned because there was clearly more going on than just the level of intoxication, with him having no shoes on."

He said while it was no excuse, his client had "a lot of factors" happening in his life which "got the better of him" on the day.

"He takes full responsibility for it," he concluded.

District Judge Gwyn Jones handed down a 16 week term of imprisonment, but suspended it for 12 months.

Newton must undertake 20 days of rehabilitation activity and a 120 day alcohol abstinence monitoring order.

He was banned from driving for 42 months and must pay a £154 victim surcharge, as well as £85 costs.