disqualified from driving private cars yesterday when he admitted driving a car with more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

James Arthur Kyme of Clarendon Road, Hamilton Parish pleaded guilty to driving a car on Kindley Field Road on June 22.

Sgt. Anthony Mouchette told the court that Police officers were conducting vehicle checks when they stopped Kyme who was at the time driving a private car.

When asked to get out of the vehicle he was unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred.

Kyme told the officers that he had only consumed one beer but a breath test revealed he had 206 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood.

"You were well over the limit,'' Senior Magistrate Will Francis remarked.

But Kyme requested that despite having having more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, he be allowed to keep his licence to operate a truck and a taxi.

He told the court that he was a part-time taxi driver and a truck driver and a blanket disqualification would rob him of his livelihood.

Mr. Francis then fined him $500 and disqualified him from driving private cars for two years.

The Senior Magistrate has come in for much criticism recently after he exercised his discretion to allow United Bermuda Party MP Ann Cartwright Decouto's son to keep his licence to ride motorcycles and drive cars.

Jessie DeCouto had pleaded guilty to impaired driving and riding an unlicensed and uninsured auxiliary cycle without headgear.

He was fined $430 and banned from riding auxiliary cycles for 18 months.