Harworth boozer borrowed mate's car and crashed it

Richard Sherwood, 34, of Greenwood Avenue, admitted drink driving, aggravated vehicle taking and driving without insurance or a licence on April 30 in Bircotes.

The court heard Sherwood crashed the borrowed Vauxhall Astra into a parked Audi A4 on Shrewsbury Road.

Robert Carr, prosecuting, said: “The owner of the Vauxhall Astra had been working on a landscaping project and had driven a mechanical digger home.

“He let Mr Sherwood drive his car behind him for a short distance but Mr Sherwood took it upon himself to drive the full distance.”

A roadside breath test revealed 126 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath when the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

The court heard Sherwood had no previous convictions.

Sherwood told the court he had been helping a friend with some landscape gardening.

Cheryl Nisbet, of the probation service, said Sherwood had a ‘long history of problematic drinking.’

She said: “I am hoping this has been a wake-up call for him. He tells me he would appreciate help.”

Magistrates sentenced him to 12 weeks in prison, suspended for one year, and ordered him to undertake a six-month alcohol treatment course.

He was banned for 30 months and told to pay £85 costs and a victim surcharge of £15.