A SUSPECTED drink driver who failed to give a breath test despite numerous attempts has been banned for two years.

Brian Joseph Jackson, 54, was said by the police to have deliberately tried to avoid giving a sample, but his solicitor told Burnley magistrates that he had been unwell at the time.

Jackson, of Railway Street, Nelson, admitted failing to provide a specimen for analysis, in July last year.

He was fined £300 with £200 costs by the bench who said the risk to the public had been very high.

Jackson was suffering from an illness he had contracted in Thailand and had jet lag, the court was told.