A 57-year-old railway crossing keeper who turned up for work more than three times over the legal alcohol limit has narrowly escaped jail.

Instead, father-of-five Frederick Palmer was given a maximum 240-hour community punishment order when he appeared before Dartford magistrates today.

Chairman of the bench, John Tuggey, told Palmer he had breached a position of trust and added: "We had very much in mind a custodial sentence."

The magistrates agreed not to send Palmer to prison after taking into account his early guilty plea and circumstances surrounding the events of November 2 last year.

The court heard that Palmer, of Perkins Close, Greenhithe, near Dartford, became depressed following the death of a grandson, and his supervisor decided to visit him at Stone Crossing near Dartford.

Bridget Todd, prosecuting, said Palmer was forced to finish his morning shift early after being found unfit for work. He then tripped on the kerb and broke his arm.

The transport worker was found to have 378 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of urine after a sample was taken at Darent Valley Hospital. The limit is 107 milligrammes.

In a rare case, Palmer was convicted under the Transport and Works Act 1992. He pleaded guilty to an excess alcohol charge at an earlier hearing.

Sara Williams, representing Palmer, revealed the defendant had spent the night playing cards with friends who had brought beer and vodka with them.

Miss Williams said: "He cannot believe what he has done. He realised he put other people's lives at risk on that day."

She added: "He has lost a job which he really enjoyed and that is a punishment in itself." Palmer was also ordered to pay £55 court costs.