A POLICEMAN has failed to save his job despite claiming he only drove while over the limit because his drink had been spiked.

The officer, who said his 30-year-old son had spiked his drinks with extra shots of gin without his knowledge, has been required to resign from the force.

A Lancashire Police internal disciplinary panel told PC Lindsay Plaiter, 51, of Livesey Branch Road, Blackburn, his career with the police was over and he must now hand in his notice.

The officer, who was based in Accrington, had admitted to driving with excess alcohol after going out for a meal for his birthday on July 27 last year but said that he did not know how much he had drunk.

According to Home Office guidelines issued to the police, any officer who is found guilty of drink-driving must be sacked.

But the officer said he had no idea how much alcohol he had been spiked with and claimed that he had "felt capable of driving" and was "clear-headed" when he got into the car.

He said at the time of the incident, his son Barry drove the family home shortly after midnight.

However, after an argument between his daughter, Georgina, and son-in-law, Ian, Plaiter had become concerned for his daughter's welfare and decided to drive to her home in Wilpshire to check she was alright, a court heard.

On his way back from her house, he was stopped in the Bank Top area of Blackburn, where he was breathalysed.

He was found to have 83 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Preston Magistrates Court was told Plaiter had also drunk a "splash" of malt whisky, two pints of Guinness, a glass of red wine, two single malts and two gin and tonics as well as the shots of gin his son had added to his glass.

The magistrates dealing with the case said they did not believe Plaiter had been unaware of the drinks given to him by his son and they fined him £400 with £150 costs.

Today a police spokesman said: "As a result of a disciplinary hearing, PC Plaiter was requested to resign from the force."