A Paget man who admitted driving while more than three times over the legal alcohol limit was today banned from the roads for 18 months and fined $1,200.

Magistrates’ Court heard that at about 3.15am on Monday police were driving along The Lane in Paget when they saw a man on an auxiliary cycle in front of them stop suddenly.

The bike and rider fell over, but the rider lifted the vehicle and tried to kick start it.

The officers approached the man, who identified himself as Dmytro Tymoshenko, and asked if he needed help.

They noticed that he appeared to be unsteady on his feet and smelled of alcohol.

A later breath test showed 276 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood — more than triple the legal limit of 80 milligrammes.

Tymoshenko, 26, pleaded guilty to the offence this morning.

Tymoshenko, who appeared in court with his arm in a sling, apologised for the offence.

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