Man, 40, has drink-drive charge thrown out after it emerges he suffers with auto-brewery syndrome [Video]

A BREWERY worker had a drink-drive charge dismissed because of a condition that causes his own body to produce alcohol.

The 40-year-old from Belgium has auto-brewery syndrome (ABS), a rare metabolic condition that causes carbohydrates in the gut to ferment.

This leads to higher alcohol levels in the blood and can cause sufferers to become drunk.

His lawyer Anse Ghesquiere said scientists believe that the number of ABS cases in the world is under-estimated. 

Currently, only some 20 people globally have been officially diagnosed with the condition.

Medics at the Stony Brook University Hospital in New York, US, have previously shown people with the condition often have a high-sugar, high carbohydrate diet.

It is more common in people who also have diabetes, obesity, and Crohn’s disease, but can occur in anyone.

Alongside the dangers of intoxication while diving, the condition …