A SWINDON man who drove to McDonald's in the early hours of the morning after drinking strong Polish beer has been banned from driving for 23 months.

Slawomir Wojciech Stojda, 26, of Truscott Avenue, made his second appearance at Swindon Magistrates' Court, having pleaded guilty to a drink-drive charge the previous week on June 14.

After Stojda pleaded guilty to driving his Vauxhall Corsa at the Orbital shopping park with a breath alcohol level of 91 microgrammes, District Judge Simon Cooper decided that sentence could not be delivered until a Polish interpreter was available. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Stojda, who has been in the UK for two months, had the use of an interpreter at his last appearance to explain the proceedings of the court.

Prosecutor Kate Prince told the court that at 1am on May 27 members of the public called police after Stojda was seen trying to get into McDonald's at the Orbital shopping park.

When he found it was closed he was seen to stagger to his van which he then crashed into the barrier of the car park.

Probation officer Jackie Reynolds told the court Stojda worked for Amelio Utilities in Gloucester from 7am to 7pm five days a week.

The work was very physical, she said, and he only wanted to relax when he came home.

That day after getting home from work he had drunk four large cans of strong Polish beer and four large bottles of strong Polish beer.

He could not remember why he took the foolish decision to drive to McDonald's, but he had been extremely tired and had had too much to drink. Things were going well for him, Ms Reynolds told the court - he had stable accommodation and his employer was allowing him to keep his job and had said he would find him jobs in Swindon.

He had said he would put Sundays aside to complete any unpaid work in the community as quickly as he could.

Chairman of the bench Amanda Lee sentenced Stojda to 60 hours of unpaid work and ordered him to pay court costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £85. He was banned from driving for 23 months.

If he completes a drink drive rehabilitation course before September 22 next year the disqualification period will be reduced by 173 days.