A MAN who commutes from York to London is off the road for three years after he was caught driving at four times the drink drive limit.

Ramanan Nathan, 38, gave a reading of 142 millilitres of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath after police arrested him on Shipton Road, York, on July 9, said Cathy Turnbull, prosecuting, at York Magistrates Court. The legal limit is 35.

Andrew Craven, defending, said Nathan had been under considerable strain because of family illness and other matters and had started drinking too much.

IT specialist Nathan, of Bishopfields Road, York, pleaded guilty to drink driving. He was sentenced to a 12-month community order with 250 hours’ unpaid work, banned from driving for three years and ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £85 statutory surcharge.

A probation report said Nathan had sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous and was hoping to relocate his work to the north.

Mr Craven said friends and those who knew Nathan were shocked to hear about his actions, which were out of character. Since being caught, he had not drunk at all.

“He has taken the view he has stopped drinking, he is not going to drink, he is not a drinker,” said Mr Craven.

Nathan had been living in St Albans and his wife had regularly had to spend time in Yorkshire, so he had been able to hide his drinking from her.

In January, the couple had moved to York, but he was still working in London, so was commuting by train to his office. He also travelled by car to his company’s Leeds office.

Since his arrest, he had confessed to his friends and his wife about his drinking. That had in itself helped to relieve some of the strain he had been under.