A DRINK driver was arrested in Hampshire after CCTV operatives traced his journey on cameras, a court has heard.

Ionut Pauna drove a Vauxhall Corsa in a way that "concerned" a camera controller at 4.20am on April 5.

When officers caught up with the vehicle on the A31 near Ringwood, the defendant, 22, had to be helped from the driver's seat, it was heard.

Prosecuting at Bournemouth Magistrates' Court, Alison Saunders said most of the vehicle's route was covered by CCTV, and an extensive recording documenting his journey had been made.

"As the vehicle headed towards the A31 officers were able to catch up with it because of the roadworks," she said.

"Officers said [the vehicle] was crossing between lane one and lane two and then back again. When they were happy that it was safe to do so, the vehicle was stopped.

"Initially, the driver didn't appear to notice that he was being asked to stop."

Ms Saunders said Pauna's speech was "slurred" and his eyes were "glazed".

 "[He had been driving] at a variation of speeds – very fast and very slow, swerving between the lines," she added.

"He was generally not paying a great deal of attention to his position in the road. His driving was described as 'erratic'."

Pauna, of Sea Road in Boscombe, was taken to Bournemouth Police Station to provide a specimen.

However, although he blew a reading of 77 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath once, he did not complete the second test needed for a successful prosecution.

As a result, he was charged with failing to provide a specimen for analysis and using a motor vehicle without third party insurance, both of which he admitted.

Sean Waters, mitigating, said Pauna accepted he had "had something to drink" with friends before he was stopped by police and was under the influence of alcohol.

However, the defendant hadn't realised he was over the limit when he got behind the wheel, the court was told.

"He did provide one sample of breath, and he tried to provide a second and failed to do so on a number of occasions," Mr Waters said.

"The first reading properly taken was 77[mg] in breath.

"The other readings, which were not recorded, were between 59 and 77 in breath."

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Mr Waters said Pauna had needed to be "assisted out of his vehicle" by police on the A31.

However, he was able to stand unaided at the roadside and at the police station, the solicitor said.

Pauna was ordered to pay £200 in fines, a £20 victim surcharge and £85 in costs.

He was also disqualified from driving for 20 months.