Top National Hunt jockey Norman Williamson was told by magistrates yesterday he had avoided going to prison by a whisker when he was sentenced for drink-driving.

A court in Gloucester sentenced Williamson (30) to 100 hours' community service and banned him from driving for three years after he admitted driving at more than three times the legal limit at an earlier hearing.

Sentencing Irish-born Williamson, chairman of the bench Clive Thomson said: "You have only just missed custody by a whisker and you must be certain when you get your licence back it doesn't happen again."

Williamson, of East Garston, Newbury, Berks, was stopped by police on the A417 near Gloucester on Valentine's Day. The court heard he had been drinking in a pub near his house after missing out on riding Decoupage to victory in Tote Gold Trophy at Newbury the previous day due to injury.

When he returned home he found a message from trainer Venetia Williams asking him to ride out at her Herefordshire stables early the next morning and decided to make the 90-mile journey in his Lexus car.

Mr Leach told the court Williamson had arrived at Newbury racecourse with a neck spasm on February 13 and was told he could not ride the horse he was supposed to because of the injury.

When stopped at 10 p.m. on the evening of February 14th, he failed a roadside breath test and was taken to Cheltenham police station where he gave a breath test reading of 130 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.