A trainee accountant has pleaded guilty to drink driving twice in just over a month after going through a breakup.

Michael Clark, 30, of Charter Road in Chippenham, was first caught drink driving on Anton Bantock Way in Bristol in the early hours of Saturday, January 6, 2024.

According to Prosecutor Charles Nightingale, Clark’s car “cruised into the other carriageway and he then stopped in the middle of the carriageway blocking the road completely.”

The trainee accountant and food delivery driver had 60mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath which is almost twice the legal limit in the UK.

Despite being due to appear in court in March, Clark repeated his crime just several weeks later.

“On Sunday, February 18, he was spotted again driving a Vauxhall Corsa on Charter Road in Chippenham,” said Mr Nightingale.

At the time of the second offence, Clark was found to have 79 microgrammes of alcohol in his breath.

But Defence lawyer Mark Glendenning said that the Chippenham man only started drinking because a recent breakup caused him to struggle.

"It was a foolish mistake. He had been consoling himself,” he said.

Addressing the defendant, District Judge Dickens said: “You knew what was going to happen and you chose to do it again.

“You endangered other road users and people could have died. It is also just giving two fingers up to the justice system.”

After pleading guilty in front of Swindon Magistrates Court on Monday, February 19, Clark has now been fined £900 and banned from driving for two years.

This is in addition to a victim surcharge fee of £350 and prosecution costs of £85, leaving him with a total cost of £1345.