AN Army Warrior driver has been banned from getting behind the wheel after admitting drink-driving.

Soldier Dean Wilkinson, of Mooltan Barracks, Tidworth, admitted driving a motor vehicle when above the drink-drive limit when he appeared at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Serena Edwards, prosecuting, told the court that the 22-year-old was stopped by the police as he was driving along the A342 Weyhill Road, in Andover, at 1am on 21 June.

Peter Little, defending, said: “He (Wilkinson) is a good soldier. He is a Warrior driver so this is going to have a detrimental effect on his unit.

“He will lose his trade as he is a driver, and the unit is going to miss him.

“I would ask you to keep the disqualification to a minimum as it will affect the unit more than it will his personal driving.”

Mr Little explained that Wilkinson had been drinking earlier in the day but thought that he was no longer over the drink-drive limit when he got in the driving seat of his Ford Fiesta. The soldier was found to have 61mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath – 26mg over the legal limit for driving.

Magistrates fined Wilkinson £400, which was reduced from £600 for his early guilty plea, and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge of £40 and court costs of £85.

He was also disqualified from driving for 17 months, which could be reduced by 18 weeks if he successfully completes a drink-driver rehabilitation course by 3 May, 2015.