UNEMPLOYED Christopher Callaghan told police officers he had drunk 'loads" of alcohol when he was stopped for driving erratically, a court heard.

The 34-year-old, of Walkham Close, Loudwater, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and without insurance, at High Wycombe Magistrates Court last Tuesday .

Rosemary Lake, prosecuting, said police officers were driving along Station Road, High Wycombe, when they saw a Volvo swerving erratically behind another vehicle on the A40 London Road, on December 12, at 11.45pm.

She said: "Officers stopped the car and spoke to the defendant who smelt strongly of alcohol. He admitted to drinking alcohol. He was asked if he had any alcohol and he said 'loads'. Asked when he had his last drink and he said 'when I left the pub'."

Callaghan was taken a police station and a breath test revealed he had 52 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal drink-drive limit is 35 microgrammes.

James Smith, defending, said Callaghan had about four pints of beer with work colleagues after work.

He said: "He thought he would be safe to drive. There was no accident and my client was fully cooperative with the police."

The court heard Callaghan was recently fired from his job, which he only held for three-weeks, for an unrelated matter.

Callaghan was disqualified from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay a £50 fine and £55 costs. His licence was endorsed for having no insurance. He agreed to go on a drink-drive rehabilitation course to reduce his sentence by three months.