A 23-year-old Blackburn man was arrested by an off-duty detective inspector at the end of a bizarre chain of events, a court was told.

Blackburn magistrates heard that Andrew Michael Houghton had gone by taxi to a party in Ribchester.

But when they got there the driver joined the party and started drinking.

The driver claimed that at some stage his car was taken without consent but Andrew Michael Houghton claimed the driver had given his friend permission to drive the car.

However, Houghton accepted that he did not have permission when he drove the car off a forecourt in Wilpshire and crashed it into two other vehicles.

And after fleeing the scene he returned to the petrol station only to join the queue behind the off duty inspector.

Houghton, 23, of Weavers Court, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to taking a car without consent, failing to stop after an accident, driving with excess alcohol and without insurance.

He was sentenced to 120 days in prison suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 120 hours unpaid work.

He was also made subject to a curfew order for two months, banned from driving for two years and ordered to pay a total of £450 compensation.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said the taxi driver had accepted an invitation to go into the house where he had drunk cans of lager and some champagne.

He was phoning a friend to pick him up when he saw that his taxi had gone and his keys were missing from his jacket pocket.

At 7am next day there was an accident at the junction of Parsonage Road and Whalley New Road in Wilpshire.

The taxi, driven by Houghton collided with a car waiting at the lights and sent it spinning into a stationary vehicle.