A TOP police officer has quit the force in disgrace after he was caught drink driving by his colleagues.

Superintendent Paul Brookes resigned from his post at Greater Manchester Police when he was found to be more than three times over the drink drive limit.

The 56-year-old officer, who has received a number of commendations in his career, will lose out on a £100,000 pension payout because of his decision to resign.

He was also fined £600 and given an 18-month driving ban after he admitted drink driving at Manchester Magistrates' Court.

Brookes was caught after he had been drinking heavily during a visit to London for a number of "sensitive" meetings relating to his work earlier this year.

Drinking late

He had been based with Rochdale police but was seconded out of the force at the time.

Brookes booked into a hotel the evening before his appointments and was drinking late into the night with others in a hotel bedroom.

He had a "few glasses of wine" during the day of meetings and presentations in London and then another glass of wine with a sandwich on the train back to Manchester.

Despite his heavy drinking, he got into his car when he arrived at the station and decided to drive to his home in Ashton Road, Failsworth.

Brookes was pulled over by fellow GMP officers when they spotted his VW Jetta swerving on Oldham Road, Miles Platting, at 1.15am on May 1.

Superb record

He was given a roadside breath test and found to have 108 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath - just over three times the legal limit of 35 micrograms.

Magistrate Pauline Salisbury said the bench had considered his high level of public service and superb record with GMP, but imposed a two-year driving ban.

 She said: "This is very serious and Mr Brookes you should have known better. You above all people should have known better than to get in a vehicle after you had consumed so much alcohol, when it would have been so easy to get in a taxi from the station.

"It could have had very serious consequences with such a high reading."

Brookes had initially worked as a fireman before joining the police force as a constable and rising through the ranks.

Richard Vardon, defending, said his client had decided to quit, taking early retirement and giving up a £100,000 lump sum of his police pension, after being arrested.

Regretted

Mr Vardon said his client had been compliant with officers when he was pulled over.

"He didn't in anyway try to abuse his position or his rank. He didn't suggest that because he was police officer he was above the law in any way."

Mr Vardon said Brookes regretted letting the institution he loves down. Brookes agreed to pay the fine immediately - plus £75 in court costs and a victim surcharge - and opted to take a drink driving course, reducing his disqualification to 18 months.

A GMP spokesman confirmed that he had worked for them but was seconded out of the force at the time of the offence.

She added: "The man was a senior officer at the time of the incident but has since exercised his right to retire. The officer was on secondment but had previously worked at Rochdale."