A REUNION between two old friends went disastrously wrong for one of the pair when managed to lose his pal and his mobile phone, a court was told.

Anthony Athow's plans to stay the night in Canterbury went awry and he tried to sleep it off in his car, but somehow found himself driving towards Wincheap.

Athow, 41, admitted driving with excess alcohol when he appeared at Canterbury Magistrates' Court.

Teresa Ruiz, prosecuting, said police had seen Athow on foot in Canterbury at 4.45am when he was clearly intoxicated, but allowed him to go on his way.

But they encountered him again an hour later, this time behind the wheel of a Ford Escort van making his way from St Peter's Place to Rheims Way.

He was pulled up and failed a roadside breath test.

Analysis at Canterbury Police Station revealed 61 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

When he was arrested, Athow told officers: "I can't believe after all these years of driving I have done this."

Athow, of Dover Road, Folkestone, was banned from driving for 18 months and fined £200, plus £85 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.