A TRAFFIC policeman who hit the bottle after his wife ran off with the next-door neighbour was banned from driving for three years and given 150 hours community service today.

Former Pc Desmond Smullen, 39, of Isis Avenue, Bicester, was nearly four times the drink drive limit.

The officer, who was based at Bicester Magistrates Court, resigned from the force last Friday after appearing at a disciplinary hearing before Chief Constable Charles Pollard.

Smullen gave a positive breath test after colleagues were called to a two-car crash in Bicester town centre on January 25.

Paul Redpath, defending, said Smullen had started drinking heavily after his wife went off with their neighbour, leaving him to look after their 12-year-old daughter. The couple have since divorced.

Smullen had to give up a promising career in the Territorial Army. He had also tried to get help with his drink problem but broke his hand in an accident and was unable to attend the sessions in Reading.

Mr Redpath said: "He is angry with himself. He is very ashamed. He says common sense went out of the window that night. He has pretty much lost everything in life that was of any importance to him."

He admitted driving with excess alcohol. His reading was 132 mg in 100 ml of breath. The legal limit is 35.

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