A DRIVER caught over the limit said he hit a car while swerving to avoid a badger.

Andrew Lewis Davies, 21, admitted drink-driving at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.

Davies, of Newbridge, Llanymynech, was driving near Four Crosses at around 4am on June 11 when he hit a vehicle and knocked on the door of the house to report the incident to its owners.

Police were called to the scene, where Davies was breathalysed and found to have 47 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35.

Helen Tench, prosecuting, said Davies told police he had drunk four bottles of beer that evening.

Robert Hanratty, for Davies, said: “He acted very responsibly in going to the house.

“He stayed at the house knowing that the police had been called, and was very co-operative.”

Davies was handed a 12-month driving ban, which magistrates told him could be reduced to nine months if he takes a drink-drive rehabilitation course before January.

He was also ordered to pay a £200 fine, £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge.