ISLAND magistrates were persuaded not to ban a Wroxall man from driving after police found him sat at the wheel of his car on Ventnor Down drunk and more than four times the drink-drive limit.

Paul Roper, of Brookside Crescent, Wroxall, admitted being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle, namely a blue Skoda Octavia, on Down Lane, Ventnor, on December 22 last year.

Police discovered him at 5.20pm in his parked car, with the keys in the ignition.

When arrested after a failed roadside breath test, Roper, 54, was taken to Newport Police Station, where he provided a breath reading of 152 microgrammes.

The reading was more than four times the legal drink-drive limit of 35.

Roper, with no previous convictions, had a clean driving licence of 37 years before he committed the offence.

"He woke up that morning, things had been going wrong in his life and his brother dying in October last year had hit him hard," said Henry Farley, for Roper.

"He was off work suffering mental collapse and, on the day in question, he had a blazing row with his wife and drove up to Ventnor Downs, where he drank alcohol and fell asleep."

Roper made an arrangement with his nephew and brother to come down to the Island the next morning to take him back to his native Midlands, where he has lived since the offence, the bench was told.

The dad-of-three former Vestas blade technician, told the police he had no intention of driving and had planned to stay on the Downs that night.

Roper's wife had contacted the police that day concerned for his welfare, Mr Farley added.

Although Island magistrates described Roper's alcohol reading as "off the scale", they took into account his previously unblemished record and that he had a job painting classic cars in Coventry should he hang on to his licence.

They used their discretionary powers to hand Roper ten penalty points, rather than disqualify him from driving.

Roper was also fined £733, with £85 costs and a £73 victim surcharge.