A MAN who had used a DIY breathalyser before driving failed the real thing.

Blackburn magistrates heard Christopher Carroll was stopped after police saw him hit the kerb at 1.30am.

He gave a breathalyser reading of 63 against the legal limit of 35.

Carroll, 39, of Reedyford Road, Nelson, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol. He was fined £100 with £85 costs and £34 victim surcharge and banned from driving for 17 months.

Colleen Dickinson-Jones, defending, said her client and a friend had been out for a meal and he had not had a great deal to drink.

"He had used a DIY breath kit which told him he was OK to drive," said Mrs Dickinson-Jones. "He was surprised by the breathalyser reading."

She said as a result of the incident Carroll had lost his job.

"He bitterly regrets the decision to drive," said Mrs Dickinson-Jones.

Passing sentence Deputy District Judge Alex Boyd said people who drove while intoxicated risked their own lives and those of others.