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Drink-driver was four times over the limit

A Southampton man who followed up a night of drinking with three beers in the morning was four times over the drink-drive limit when police arrested him.Carlos Bulhoes, 55, pleaded guilty to driving with more than 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood after police pulled him over on Sunday.Crown counsel Tawana Tannock said that at around 3pm that day, officers on duty near Christ Church in Warwick received a report of a vehicle being driven in an erratic manner. A short time later, the officer noticed the blue Suzuki drive past.They followed the car, which speeded up and slowed down as it veered across the road.The officers pulled the vehicle over and spoke to the driver. Bulhoes said he was just trying to find his way home. The officers noticed that he appeared to have difficulty standing. Asked if he had anything to drink, he responded he had one beer.He was then arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired.Bulhoes then told the officers: “I had three Heinekens this morning, but I had some drinks last night and some octopus.”He was taken to Hamilton Police Station, where he gave two samples of breath. The first reading showed 327mg in 100ml of blood, just over four times the legal limit, while a second reading showed 297mg.In Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, Bulhoes admitted that he did the wrong thing.Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner questioned Bulhoes about the octopus, asking if it was some form of drink. When he was told it was the marine animal, he responded: “I thought if it was a drink, it must be potent.”Mr Warner fined Bulhoes $1,000 and disqualified him from driving all vehicles for a period of one year.A second man was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired on the same day in an unrelated incident.At around 8pm on Sunday, officers on mobile patrol on Harbour Road, in Warwick, noticed a car driving erratically near the junction with Warwick Park Road.After speaking to the driver, a 57-year-old Southampton man, they noticed that he appeared to be intoxicated and arrested him. He also failed a breath test and was detained into police custody.