Drink-driving has cost a 63-year-old a £1,000 fine and a 12-month ban.

David Allen Corkish was reported to police after buying alcohol from a shop, while smelling of drink.

Prosecuting advocate Harry Bellis told magistrates that the defendant was driving a Vauxhall Insignia on January 28, on Main Road in Onchan.

He parked at Corkills Garage and bought four cans of Carling.

Staff called the police, reporting that he was smelling of alcohol as he left in his car.

Officers went to Corkish’s Alberta Drive home in Onchan, where they found his vehicle on the driveway.

When they spoke to Corkish, he was described as slurring his words, smelling of alcohol, and unsteady on his feet.

He had a glass of beer nearby and said he'd taken a few sips after arriving home.

Police arrested him after he failed a breathalyser test and at their headquarters, a further test produced a reading of 49, above the 35 limit.

When interviewed, he suggested he was only over the limit due to the Carling he’d consumed at home, but in court he pleaded guilty to the offence.

The court heard that he had no previous convictions.

Defence advocate Jim Travers handed in a letter of reference for his client and said: ‘In the plain light of day he accepts he shouldn’t have driven.

‘What makes it all the worse, is this is his first ever offence as a retired individual.’

Mr Travers said that it had been a relatively modest reading and that Corkish had been driving for nearly 50 years, having given 30 years’ service to the Department of Infrastructure.

Magistrates also ordered the defendant to take an extended driving test after his ban ends and to pay £125 prosecution costs.

He will pay at a rate of £100 per month.