A CHARD man who answered a distress call from a female friend was found by police to be more than three times the drink-drive limit when they pulled him over in his car.

Pawel Malachowski, 31, of Combe Street, pleaded guilty to driving a VW Golf on Helliers Road, Chard, after consuming excess alcohol on September 24.

Magistrates were told he had been drinking the previous day and topped up during the evening when he had a call from a friend who had been made homeless and was out on the streets.

Feeling fine to drive, he got behind the wheel of his car but was spotted by police on duty in Chard driving through the town centre at speed.

After failing a roadside breath test he was arrested after also being found to have no licence or insurance, Somerset magistrates were told.

Emma Lenanton, prosecuting, said police were on patrol in Chard at 2am when they saw a vehicle pass them at speed and then drove up Fore Street.

“They followed it into Helliers Road and it continued at speed, straying towards the centre of the road and leaving an excessive gap between itself and parked vehicles,” she said.

“They stopped the car and Malachowski failed a roadside breath test and a check revealed he had no licence or insurance and he was then arrested.”

At the police station he took a further test which produced a reading of 109mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg of alcohol.

The court heard the defendant had been to a party the evening before, and on the day of the offence went out in the afternoon and had three pints of beer while playing snooker.

“He then went to sleep and got a phone call to pick up a female friend who was in distress and he said he felt perfectly OK to drive,” said defending solicitor Jeffrey Bannister.

“However he now realises that when you have been drinking it affects how we make our decisions and it was not a deliberate thing that he went out and drove, he went out to rescue somebody.”

For drink-driving, magistrates banned Malachowski from driving for 26 months and sentenced him to a 12-month community order with a requirement to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.

He was fined a further £250 for no insurance and also ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.