A man who admitted three offences related to drink-driving offences was told he was the embodiment of the reason for the introduction of roadside breath tests.

Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe told Fabio Barbosa on Monday: “You are the personification of the reason why the roadside sobriety checkpoints were set up.

“It’s atrocious. Your behaviour, sir, is atrocious.”

Mr Wolffe told Barbosa, 32, that he was lucky to escape a jail term after he pleaded guilty to two charges of refusal of a breath test and one charge of drink-driving related to three separate incidents between December and the start of this month.

Barbosa, from Pembroke, also admitted two charges of driving without a licence.

Mr Wolffe told Barbosa: “You are the poster child for someone who should be locked up.

“You have a problem with drinking and then getting in a vehicle and driving while impaired.

“The rest of the unsuspecting public were lucky that you didn’t cause a serious accident.”

Magistrates’ Court heard that Barbosa was near the junction of Queen Street and Reid Street in Hamilton in the early hours of January 1.

Officers at a roadside breath test checkpoint saw Barbosa approach on a motorcycle, but he pulled over before he hit the police line.

Barbosa parked the bike at the side of the road, despite a problem in putting it on its stand, and walked away.

He was stopped by police and admitted that he had been drinking and that he did not have a licence, but refused to take a breath test.

The court heard Barbosa was stopped by police on December 9 last year as officers carried out vehicle checks on South Road in Devonshire.

Barbosa admitted that he did not have a valid licence and officers noticed his breath smelled of alcohol.

But he denied he had been drinking and refused to take a breath test.

Barbosa was first arrested on December 1 after he drove his motorbike through the scene of a serious accident on South Road, Paget, espite an attempt by police to divert him away from the area.

He was stopped by officers on Southcote Road and admitted he had had “three or four” beers.

Barbosa provided police with a breath sample that showed he had 82 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood — just over the legal limit of 80 milligrams.

Larissa Burgess, for the prosecution, said Barbosa was a danger to himself and others on the road and that a prison sentence was appropriate.

But Arion Mapp, the duty counsel, argued that an alcohol assessment was a better option as it was “obvious” Barbosa had an alcohol problem.

Mr Wolffe ordered a drug and alcohol assessment on Barbosa and bailed him to appear at the Drug Treatment Court this week.

He also banned Barbosa from driving “until further order from the court”.

Mr Wolffe added: “I was close to imprisoning you for at least 12 months just to show you how serious this is.”• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.