A groundworker who drove to pick up a friend while over the alcohol limit has been banned from the road.

Alex Everitt, 23, was behind the wheel of a Vauxhall Combo van on September 4 this year when he was seen by police on the A14 near Bury St Edmunds around 1am, Suffolk Magistrates' Court heard.

Officers followed the van to St Andrew's Street car park in Bury and stopped the vehicle.

Prosecutor Lesla Small told the court that officers smelt alcohol on Everitt and noticed an open can of Stella Artois in the passenger side door pocket.

He tested positive for alcohol following a roadside breath test and gave an evidential reading of 52 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg in 100ml of breath.

Appearing before magistrates on Tuesday, Everitt, of Abbotts Meadow, Woolpit, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to drink driving.

Jeremy Kendall, mitigating, said Everitt had made "an error of judgement" and had fully cooperated with police.

Mr Kendall said Everitt had consumed a couple of beers at home and had not intended to drive but was asked to pick up a friend.

He added that the Stella Artois can was not Everitt's but was his friend's.

Magistrates disqualified Everitt from driving for 14 months and fined him £425.

He was also ordered to pay £105 in court costs and a victim surcharge of £42.

Magistrates did offer Everitt the drink-drive rehabilitation course, which will reduce his ban by 14 weeks if completed in time.