A grandfather who raised cash for charity now faces financial ruin after being caught drink-driving.

The lawyer representing David Newland Roach, 70, said his client had raised £200,000 for Eden Valley Hospice in the last year but as a banned driver he would not now be able to continue that work.

At Carlisle’s Rickergate magistrates’ court, the defendant admitted drink-driving on November 19 last year.

Pamela Fee, prosecuting, said police noticed Newland Roach’s silver Mercedes AL200 when it drove dangerously close to two pedestrians outside the Fantails restaurant in Wetheral at 1.20am.

They quickly caught up with it at Plains Road, Wetheral, where the defendant lives, finding the car parked with the engine running.

When the officers approached the car, the driver slowly began to drive away. The car was stopped 100m along the road.

Newland Roach smelled of alcohol.

“The driver seemed nervous,” said Miss Fee. A test later showed he was just under twice the legal drink drive limit.

Carl Miller, for Newland Roach, said the defendant was a former director of the Sun Alliance insurance firm, who had previously earned £88,000 a year.

He was now employed as a technical surveyor and travelled all over the country in that work.

Newland Roach’s outgoings were currently £4,267 – £2,000 of which goes to his son, a single parent of two young children. He also paid out £895 in monthly rent, said the lawyer.

Mr Miller said: “He is going to lose his job today.

“He works every day apart from Wednesdays. He goes to Eden Valley Hospice and has managed to raise more than £200,000 over the last 12 months for them.”

On the day of the offence, said the lawyer, the defendant had been called by a friend and invited to Fantails, where he drank two bottles of beer.

He wrongly thought he was okay to drive.

The lawyer added: “He feels he has not only let himself down but other people down as well – mainly his son.”

In addition to losing his job, the defendant was tied into a £10,000 penalty payment if he surrenders the Plains Road property, which he had signed up to stay in for life.

Magistrates banned Newland Roach from driving for 17 months and imposed fines and costs totalling £592.

The defendant said he was willing to take a drink drivers’ rehabilitation course which, when completed, will reduce the length of his ban.