A DRUNK banker from St Albans escaped with a paltry fine despite admitting to risking the lives of his two young children in a drunken high-speed police chase along the motorway.

Scott Jarvis, 35, head of HR and business banking at Barclays, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol at Leicester Magistrates’ Court last week and was fined £2,640.

He was three times over the drink-drive limit and in the car were his two children, aged six and three, by his ex-wife with whom he shared a £650,00 detached four-bedroom house in Harpenden before their marriage broke up.

As reported by the Daily Mail, the court heard that on February 2 this year, after drinking six cans of premium strength lager at lunch, he drove his two children from his home in St Albans towards Birmingham.

But a 999 call was made when his erratic driving was noticed on the M1 late that afternoon as he swerved uncontrollably across the motorway.

When the police responded to the call, Jarvis refused to stop, careering along the hard shoulder.

But he eventually stopped his car, a BMW carrying his two children in the back seat, at a dangerous angle on the side of the road, with its rear pointing out on to the motorway.

He had been driving the children to Birmingham as he was due to meet friends before going on a trip to a theme park the following day.

The court was told that a concerned driver called 999 after seeing Jarvis’s car, “swerving from the nearside to the offside” of the northbound carriageway of the M1, and he was also indicating left despite there being no turn-off.

When police rushed to the scene and Jarvis eventually stopped, officers discovered his children in the car.

The court heard that the police noticed he was unsteady on his feet and his breath smelled of alcohol.

Tests showed Jarvis was more than three times the drink-drive limit with 107mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

The court heard that Jarvis suffered from depression and had been drinking with “intensity” and taking medication since splitting from his wife of 10 years last summer.

A representative of the probation service said: “He is looking at what has happened in his life. This has been a real kick and he realises he needs to make changes.”

Tom Petersen, defending, added that the combination of Jarvis’s marriage breakdown, depression and his very busy working life had had an impact.

Chair of the bench David Simpson wished Jarvis the best for the future and said he hoped he would be able to continue addressing his alcohol issues.

When magistrates handed down the fine of £2,640, believed to be the equivalent of about a week’s wages to Jarvis, they explained that his long hours meant he would struggle to do community service.

They decided to fine the wealthy businessman after being told he worked more than 70 hours a week, and was often busy at weekends.

A larger fine of £3,650 was reduced by a third because of his early guilty plea. His driving licence was also taken away for two years.