A NORTHERN Ireland veteran was caught at almost three times over the drink drive limit in Royal Wootton Bassett, marking his fourth drink driving offence to date.

Stephen Kurz of Lady Mead, Cricklade, pleaded guilty to driving hid Ford Puma while above the drink drive limit on Thursday, May 5 when he came before magistrates sitting in Swindon on Friday.

The court heard that an off-duty police officer had spotted the car at around 7.20pm and was concerned by the way it was being driven, so followed 60-year-old Kurz.

When he pulled over the officer carried out a roadside breath test, which failed.

Kurz was taken to Gablecross Police Station where he provided a reading of 104 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Defending Kurz, Emma Thacker told the court:“He has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.”

“He served in Northern Ireland where he was shot in the leg which has caused him a number of mental health issues. He has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and this has unfortunately led to him self-medicating with alcohol to help him forget the trauma and experiences of his time in the army.

“There are significant periods of time where he doesn’t drink but things seem to get on top of him when he is under a huge amount of stress.”

She explained that he was the carer of his partner of eight years who lived in Devizes. She suffered from mobility issues as well as bi-polar disorder which had a knock-on effect on his own mental health.

Kurz was banned him from driving for more than two years.

He was also sentenced to a 12 month community order during which he must complete 25 rehabilitation days, and he was further ordered to pay court costs of £35 and a victim surcharge of £85.

The magistrates also offered him the chance to complete a drink drivers' awareness course to reduce the length of his driving ban.