A BEER taster at a North Yorkshire brewery was caught drink-driving on his way home, a court heard.

Ian Timothy Jackson, 45, of Fairfax Crescent, Tockwith, near York, was stopped by police after leaving his job as a lab technician at John Smith's brewery in Tadcaster, Selby magistrates heard.

Martin Butterworth, prosecuting, said that Jackson had been stopped on Saturday, April 27, as he drove along Wighill Lane, Tadcaster. He then failed a roadside breath test.

Tests at the police station revealed Jackson had 40 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35. A blood test revealed 91 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, 11 milligrammes over the legal limit of 80.

Jane Pattison, mitigating, said part of Jackson's job was to taste beer at the brewery and he had been performing that task the night he was arrested. Jackson, a married father-of-two, only narrowly exceeded the drink-drive limit and police had allowed him to drive home after the blood test, Miss Pattison said. She said Jackson had not told the brewery, where he has worked for 22 years, about the incident.

Jackson was disqualified from driving for one year.

He was also fined £150 and ordered to pay £55 costs.

Updated: 10:32 Friday, June 07, 2002