A worried taxi driver followed a motorist he suspected of drink driving, a court heard.

The cabbie alerted the police and then tailed Steven Southwell, who had drunk more than three times the legal alcohol limit, as he drove through Brighton.

Southwell, 45, of Kings Road, Brighton, was seen to drive erratically. When he parked on the seafront the cabbie approached him and asked if he was drunk. Southwell replied: "I am sorry. I know I should not be drinking."

Southwell asked the taxi driver not to contact the police saying his wife had left him. But a few minutes later officers arrived at the scene. A test showed 127mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

The court heard Southwell, who has not passed a driving test, has a previous conviction of drink driving dating back to 1993.

Southwell admitted charges of drink driving, having no insurance and breaching the conditions of a provisional licence.

He was banned for three years and sentenced to 12 months' probation.

He was also ordered to pay £55 costs.

Louise Hanrahan, defending, said Southwell, a father-of-three, was suffering from depression following the break-up of his marriage after 11 years.

She said: "Because of the devastating break-down in his marriage he suffered a temporary and total loss of reason."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.