A LORRY driver who was four times the drink drive limit as he left Harwich Port has been jailed for 12 weeks and disqualified for three years.

Police were alerted to a minor collision at Harwich International Port on Sunday, August 1, after a lorry driver aroused suspicions disembarking from a ferry.

When officers arrived at about 7.45am, the driver was found to be four times the legal drink drive limit and was arrested.

Jacek Przybyl, 43, of no fixed address, was charged with drink driving and remanded in custody.

He appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court the next day, when he admitted the charge.

Przybyl was jailed for 12 weeks and banned from driving for three years.

Adam Pipe, head of roads policing at Essex Police, said: “Jacek Przybyl didn’t think of his or other road users’ safety when he got behind the wheel, intending to drive hundreds of miles on a major route out of Essex.

“Alcohol stays in your system longer than you think and it affects your decision making and slows your reaction time.

"I hope that this acts as a warning to anyone who thinks that drink, or drug driving, is an option – it’s not.

“I’d like to thank colleagues at the port for bringing this to our attention so we could ensure that Jacek Przybyl didn’t present a danger on our roads or to any other driver.”