THE son of two retired police officers has been banned from the wheel after driving while more than three times over the legal limit.

Jeffrey Edward George Chandler, 28, was sentenced after pleading guilty to the offence when he appeared at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court on Wednesday.

The court heard the defendant had been at a wedding when he got in his Volkswagen Polo to drive to his parents' home in the area.

Chandler, of Fulthorpe Avenue, Darlington, was pulled over in a layby on Skinnergate, in the town.

Sarah Traynor, prosecuting, told the court he was approached by an officer who said he 'could hardly speak and smelled of alcohol'.

A breath test reading showed the defendant had 125 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the legal limit being 35 microgrammes.

Gwen Burnett, mitigating, said Chandler had no intention of driving but after losing his friends decided to drive to his parents' nearby home.

Ms Burnett said: "His behaviour and the charge has devastated the family who all feel ashamed. The values he was brought up with have been brought into disrepute."

She added the defendant, a barman who does seasonal work as a managing entertainments officer, wanted to apologise to the court and described the incident as 'two seconds of complete stupidity'.

Chandler, who also lives in the Milton Keynes area, was fined £813 and ordered to pay a £150 criminal criminal court charge, £85 court costs and an £81 victim surcharge.

He was disqualified from driving for 30 months and was offered a drink driving rehabilitation course which could reduce the period by 25 per cent.