Former Chelsea star banned from driving

FORMER England football player Ray Wilkins has been sentenced after he admitted drink-driving after being spotted drinking from the bottle.

Wilkins was given a 10-week suspended sentence, 140 hours unpaid work and a four year driving ban.

The 59-year-old was spotted driving his Mercedes in the middle of a road, straddling a bus lane along the A4 northern perimeter road in London on Friday July 1.

Wilkins, who played for Chelsea and Manchester United, pleaded guilty to drink-driving on Monday at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court.

Prosecutor Izolda Gribbin said a member of the public “saw the driver striking a kerb on the road as well as drinking alcohol from the bottle while driving”.

She said: “The defendant attempted a U-turn and his vehicle came to a stop.”

Then the passer-by “to prevent an accident from happening, took his keys from the car”.

Wilkins was found to have 100mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg per 100ml of breath.

A police car was flagged down and the officer noticed Wilkins’ eyes were “glazed, he was unsteady on his feet and there was a smell of alcohol coming from him”, Ms Gribbin said.

Wilkins, who has two previous convictions for drink-driving, is part-way through a residential rehabilitation course for which he missed a previous court appearance one week earlier.