A LORRY driver has lost his job and his licence after getting behind the wheel with nearly three times the legal limit of alcohol in his system.

Darren Crawford, 28, from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, pleaded guilty at Kennet Magistrates Court in Devizes on Monday to driving the seven-tonne Renault lorry after a night of bingeing with his cabmate.

Rachel Hume, prosecuting, said that two men had approached police officers in Devizes Market Place at 1.40am on July 19. They were both the worse for drink and asked where they could get something to eat. The officers directed them to a taxi office.

Half an hour later, the officers were attending to a minor incident in New Park Street when a lorry pulled up beside them. A man leaned out of the window to talk to them and vomited.

The police officers recognised the passenger as one of the two men they had spoken to earlier. They made their way to the driver's side and identified the driver, Crawford, as his companion.

Crawford was arrested and taken to a police station where he gave two samples on the intoxilyser machine. The lower of the two readings was 90 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit being 35.

Emm Wrench, defending, said Crawford and his mate had decided to have a night out and had parked up the lorry, but when they could not find any food outlets open, they got in the lorry to try and find somewhere.

Magistrates called for a pre-sentence report, suggesting a community penalty.

Crawford is due to be sentenced on Monday. He was released on unconditional bail.