A MAN who was under intense personal pressure because of illness and death in his family was caught behind the wheel of his car after drinking.

Blackburn magistrates heard Noman Nain had been given a night off from his duties for the first time in a long time and accepted he had been drinking as a release before going for a drive.

Nain, 31, of Crompton Place, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol. He was fined £120 with £85 costs and £34 victim surcharge. He was banned from driving for three years after the court was told he had two previous drink related driving convictions.

Andy Robinson, prosecuting, said police saw Nain driving at speed on Redlam and stopped him on Stansfeld Street. Nain, who was convicted of drink driving in 2014 and failing to provide a sample in 2016, gave a reading of 62 against the legal limit of 35.

Aftab Bakhat, defending, said the period before the offence had been extremely stressful for the defendant. His mother's health was deteriorating and when his father travelled to Pakistan when his brother passed away Nain was left to care for her.

His father became ill in Pakistan and Nain remained with him until he got news that his mother's condition had worsened and he returned to the UK.

"On the day of the offence he was given a night off from his family duties and he accepts he consumed some alcohol as a release," said Mr Bakhat.

"It's not an excuse but it provides an explanation."

The chairman of the magistrates told Nain they noted he had gone through a great deal of family heartache recently.

"The fact remains that had you hit somebody you could have inflicted similar grief on another family," he added.