A powerline worker has lost his job after being caught drink-driving on a main road.

Alexander John, 23, of Shotton Walk in Manchester, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where he pleaded guilty to the offence.

Witnesses spotted him swerving between lanes on the A47 at Lynn on October 25, before hitting the kerb multiple times.

They followed John to a nearby Premier Inn, where he had been staying, and called the police.

When officers arrived, they conducted a breath test, which showed he had 44mcg of alcohol in his system per 100ml of his breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Officers arrested John at 12.20pm, and during an interview he told officers he was driving back from Norwich.

In mitigation, solicitor Richard Wyn Davies said the defendant, who was sitting head down in the dock, is an overhead linesman and travels across the country fixing pylons and cables.

“He has worked very hard to obtain the job,” he said.

“He has invested his entire life in it, and it will now be taken away from him.”

Magistrates handed John a 14-month driving ban, and he will also have to pay a £350 fine, as well as a surcharge of £140 and £110 in court costs.

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