A MOBILE DJ who was more than twice over the limit, has been banned from driving after he getting "hopelessly lost" after leaving a gig in Wrexham.

Ian Squires, 56, from Exeter Drive in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, works full-time as a self-employed asbestos removal operative, but in his spare time takes on sporadic work as a DJ, and had been booked to play a private function at Wrexham Memorial Hall on November 2.

Mold Magistrates Court heard how Squires, who also supplements his income by working as a courier driver, was unfamiliar with the Wrexham area and due to the distance he was travelling to perform at the party, had booked to stay the night in the town's Wynnstay Arms Hotel.

Squires arrived at the hotel at around 1pm, but because he was too early to check into his room, drove to the venue to set up his equipment instead, where he ended up staying for the duration of the evening, having been told he could leave his car there overnight.

Justin Espie, prosecuting, told the court how Squires had been spotted by police driving erratically, and without his headlights on, along Elm Grove in the early hours the next day.

He was stopped by officers and gave a sample of breath which resulted in a reading of 89 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, with the legal limit being 35mg/100ml.

Melissa Griffiths, defending, told the court her client had been drinking throughout the evening and had no intention of driving back to the hotel, but a taxi he had ordered failed to arrive at the venue to pick up both him and a friend.

Ms Griffiths went on to say how Squires and his friend then decided to sit in his car while he attempted to re-charge his "dead" mobile phone, but that they had both then fell asleep asleep until about 4am.

Ms Griffiths said Squires would very much live to regret his decision to then drive to try and find the hotel, which resulted in them becoming "hopelessly lost" due to their lack of local geographical knowledge.

Magistrates banned Squires from driving for a period of 17 months and he was ordered to pay a fine of £440, court costs of £85 and a surcharge of £44.