A DRUNKEN soldier drove on a Huddersfield motorway as his Army career lay in tatters, a court heard.

Ryan Malcolm, 23, appeared before the town’s magistrates yesterday for the incident on February 14.

He admitted driving above the alcohol limit, using a car without insurance and driving whilst disqualified.

Huddersfield magistrates heard that Malcolm was stopped by police at junction 23 at Outlane on the westbound carriageway of the M62.

A roadside breath test revealed 49 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35mg.

He was also flouting a previous driving ban and had no insurance for his Audi A3.

The court heard that Malcolm is currently in an Army prison after going AWOL.

He had been a soldier for seven years, risking his life on the front line.

But he had got into difficulties as he struggled with life back home.

His solicitor Neil Murphy said: “A few years ago soldiers would not see active service.

“It’s a fundamentally different regime that they find themselves in today, when they know that they are putting their life on the line for the country.

“That was the case for this young man. He is a highly proactive soldier and has gone on two active tours of Iraq.

“He is a soldier who in his professional life has had no problems dealing with huge pressure but like a lot (of soldiers) found difficulties when he came home as he tried to live a normal life.

“When not functioning as a soldier he has found it difficult to adjust to his home life and has had drink and domestic problems.

“He is likely to be discharged, which is a very sad end to a good career in the Army.”

Magistrates were told that Malcolm, of Asprey Drive in Bradford, went AWOL from the Army six months ago.

Malcolm was taken straight from Huddersfield police station to the Army detention site in Colchester.

He is due to be sentenced at a tribunal in May when he is likely to be discharged.

Magistrates said the offences were serious but gave him a conditional discharge for 12 months because he is serving military detention.

He was also banned from driving for 14 months.