IPSWICH Town's new signing Adam Proudlock has been banned from driving for 20 months for being caught at more than twice the drink-drive limit.Proudlock, 24, was also fined £1,000 by magistrates in Telford yesterdayafter he admitted driving with excess alcohol near his home in Newport, Shropshire, last month.

IPSWICH Town's new signing Adam Proudlock has been banned from driving for 20 months for being caught at more than twice the drink-drive limit.

Proudlock, 24, was also fined £1,000 by magistrates in Telford yesterdayafter he admitted driving with excess alcohol near his home in Newport, Shropshire, last month.

The court was told the striker had been drinking with a friend just days after being sacked by Sheffield Wednesday Football Club for breaches of club discipline.

Proudlock has signed a three-month loan contract with Ipswich the day before his court appearance after being given a chance to resurrect his career by Blues manager Joe Royle.

The footballer, of Ford Road, Newport, accepted the opportunity to reduce his disqualification by five months by completing the drink drivers' rehabilitation programme.

Nick Wadsworth, prosecuting, said Proudlock's black 4x4 Mercedes car was seen by police around 5.30pm on September 23 on the A41 at Weston Heath.

He said the car was behind a tanker near the junction with the B4379 road to Sheriffhales and had straddled the white line looking to overtake.

Mr Wadsworth said that when Proudlock's car was stopped he apologised for his lapse in driving, but the police officer realised he had been drinking.

Proudlock failed a road side breath test and subsequent tests showed that he had 80 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Defence solicitor Mark Thompson said his client had been out for lunch with a friend from 1.30pm, but had stayed longer and had been drinking lager.

“It was a few days after he had been sacked by Sheffield Wednesday and he had been affected by the news,” said Mr Thompson.

He said there were other matters in Proudlock's life and he was at “a low ebb”, feeling he had been wronged by his employers.

“He decided to have a drink with the friend and only had a two-mile journey home. But he accepts it was a lapse in judgment and a mistake for which he is sorry,” said Mr Thompson.

He said that as a professional footballer, Proudlock took a responsible attitude towards drinking and this was a rare occasion.

“He takes his responsibilities as a potential role model seriously and realises he has let himself and other people down,” he added.