M25 lorry driver was four times over limit with whisky bottle

The 34-year-old defendant was sentenced at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court

A man found slumped over the wheel of his lorry while four times over the legal limit has been sentenced for drink driving and dangerous driving.

Essex Police said Gheorge-daniel Cristea, 34, was driving erratically on the M25 and M11 in November.

Officers said they found an empty bottle of whisky in the rear of his cab once he pulled over.

Cristea, of High Street, Swanscombe, Kent, was given a 24-week prison term, but suspended for one year.

At Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Monday, he was also told to complete 100 hours of community service and was disqualified from holding a licence for 24 months.

Sgt David Martin said: "Anyone with four times the drink drive limit is a danger on the road, no matter how safe they think they are."

The force said he was driving a 44-tonne articulated lorry on the M25 between junction 28 for Brentwood and junction 27 for the M11 on 14 November.

He was witnessed braking hard, where he almost collided with the central reservation, before taking the M11 northbound exit, officers said.

Police followed him for about half a mile, attempting to pull him over, before he eventually stopped at the hard shoulder.