AN 84-year-old former Royal Navy man who drove off after crashing into a lorry on the A59 at Sawley later failed a breathalyser test.

Blackburn magistrates heard Frank Heaton was nearly double the legal limit when police caught up with him in Sawley where his car had broken down as a result of the impact.

Heaton, of Straits Lane, Read, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and failing to stop after an accident. He was fined £200 with £90 costs, banned from driving for 12 months and given a conditional discharge for the same period.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said the accident happened at 4.30pm. Police attended and called in to the communications room where they were told another motorist had followed Heaton whose car broke down.

They found the car in the middle of the road and Heaton was in a nearby house phoning the RAC. A breathalyser reading showed 63 against the legal limit of 35.

Trevor Grice, defending, blamed the reading on his client taking medication with whisky and hot water for a chest infection. He said Heaton served in the Royal Navy for 24 years, being mentioned in despatches on several occasions, then worked for the Ministry of Defence.

The only endorsement on his licence in over 50 years of driving was for speeding.