A 38-year-old mechanic from Douglas who was four times over the drink-drive limit has been jailed for 16 weeks and banned from driving for seven years.

Anthony Roy Thompson, of Governor’s Hill, claimed he was driving to hospital because he was having a seizure.

He must also retake his test and complete a drink-drive rehabilitation course at the end of his ban.

Deputy High Bailiff Jayne Hughes described the seizure as ’alcohol-induced’ and said while passing sentence: ’This was an extremely high reading. Four times the limit is one of the highest in recent months or years that has been before this court.

’As if that wasn’t enough of an aggravating feature you drove when you didn’t have a licence or insurance. It meant not only did you put yourself at risk but other road users too.

’It meant anyone involved in an accident with you would have had no recourse through insurance. You took an enormous risk.’

We previously reported how, on February 24, Thompson had been stopped by police while he was driving from Governor’s Hill to Noble’s Hospital at 9.05pm.

Police reported that he was travelling at 20mph and swerving slightly from left to right.

Checks revealed that Thompson’s vehicle licence had expired in December 2016.

When he was spoken to by police he told them that he was having a seizure and needed to get to the hospital.

He was asked if he had been drinking and admitted that he had.

After a visit to the hospital he was taken to police headquarters where a breathalyser test produced a reading of 141 - the legal limit is 35.

Prosecutor Barry Swain told the court Thompson told police that he had called an ambulance but it had not turned up on time.

Mr Swain said: ’It seems any seizure might have been induced by alcohol. It was clearly not an emergency. He could have sought assistance from the ambulance service.’

Defending Thompson in court his advocate Tim Mann said: ’The defendant was only driving at 20mph. It’s not a case where he came out of the pub and roared down the road. The hospital didn’t immediately throw him out, he was kept for a while, then arrested in the hospital.’

Mr Mann said that Thompson allowed his licence to expire because he had not been driving due to drink problems but had sought help from the Drug and Alcohol Team.

The court heard that Thompson had a conviction of a similar nature in 1997 but had committed no offences in the last 12 years.

It was said that he had been a motor mechanic with a garage business but the business had collapsed.