A Welshpool man broke his month-long sobriety while watching the Six Nations, and then got caught driving over four times the drink-drive limit, a court heard.

Gary Pierce, 33, of Clos Bryn-Y-Ddol, admitted driving his Vauxhall Astra on Erw Wen, Welshpool, on March 17, while over the limit. He had 155 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of his breath. The limit is 35 microgrammes.

Pierce was given a suspended sentence and driving ban at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Helen Tench, prosecuting, said that at 2.45am a police officer saw Pierce driving “erratically”.

He was given a roadside test, which revealed he had 155 microgrammes of alcohol in his breath, the court heard.

Ms Tench said that this put Pierce in the highest drink driving sentencing guidelines, which was for 120 to 150 microgrammes and above.

Owain Jones, defending, said: “It is very noticeable how remorseful he has been about this whole incident”.

He added that Pierce is a “genuinely nice guy”.

Mr Jones said that the defendant was walking home from a night out when he passed his car and made the “flash” decision to drive.

“There was no reason to drive as he did,” he said.

Probation told the court that Pierce had been drinking since 2pm when he committed the offence, as he was watching the rugby.

He has an irregular heartbeat, which causes anxiety, which he developed a drinking habit to cope with, the court heard. He had managed to break this habit for over a month but went back to drinking when watching the rugby, the probation officer said.

Magistrates sentenced Pierce to 20 weeks in custody, suspended for 12 months. He was ordered to pay total costs of £200 and given rehabilitation days. Pierce was banned from driving for 36 months, which can be reduced if he takes a drink-driving rehabilitation course.