AN ALCOHOLIC from Gunnislake, who once failed to attend treatment because he was going to the pub, has been jailed for four months for breaching his suspended prison sentence.

William Drake, 54, who was too drunk to go to another meeting, was brought back to court for failing to work with probation officers and counsellors.

Plymouth magistrates activated a suspended jail term for drink-driving and he was imprisoned for four months.

Drake, of Commercial Street, Gunnislake, was given the sentence in August last year for an offence back in February.

Magistrates heard then that he was three times the legal alcohol limit when he crashed into a lamp-post in Bere Alston.

He was found to have 257 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80.

The bench gave him a five-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. He was ordered to complete a six-month Alcohol Treatment Requirement and banned from driving for five years.

Drake appeared before court again in custody to admit failing to comply with the suspended sentence order.

Charlie Casey, prosecuting for the probation service, said he had missed four appointments with his supervising officer and counsellors from Harbour. Drake turned up late for another appointment.

He added: 'Once he contacted Harbour to say he was not able to attend because he was too drunk. He was asked where he was on another occasion and he said he was on the way to the pub.

'The view of the service is that he fails to take responsibility for his offence and there is no evidence he is reducing his drinking.'

Geoff Parlby, representing Drake, said he had attended 14 or 15 of the 19 appointments in total. He said he could not argue that sending him to prison was unjust.

Mr Parlby said Drake, who had a long standing alcohol problem, liked to socialise with friends by drinking.

Magistrates jailed him for four months, reducing the suspended sentence by a month to reflect the appointments he had attended.