A MAN has been banned from the roads and fined thousands of pounds after he was caught drink driving in a 22.5 tonne truck in Southampton.

Bjorn Gravir Bratas, 28, was caught drink driving in a CAT 730 he had taken without consent on December 31 at around 4.30am.

He had 80 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath when he was caught on Central Road, Southampton.

The legal limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 mililiters of breath, making him more than twice the drink drive limit.

It comes after police rushed to dock gate four at Southampton docks after security staff at the dockyard stopped the new Caterpillar Articulated Haul Truck in the early hours of December 31.

Officers had received reports that an articulated truck had been taken without consent and, when arriving at the scene, found the person driving the vehicle with "excess alcohol".

They have labelled the incident as a "potential first" for their Christmas drink drive campaign Operation Holly.

Appearing at Southampton Magistrates' Court on January 1, Bratas pleaded guilty to one account of taking a vehicle without consent and one account of drink driving.

Bratas, of Sundkillen Brygge, Kuiteseid in Norway, was disqualified from driving for 20 months.

He was fined £1,153 for taking the vehicle and a further £692 for drink driving.

He was also ordered to pay £115 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.