A LORRY driver planned to sleep off the effects of a night drinking in his car on the pub car park.

But Blackburn magistrates heard the landlord of the Talbot in Chipping objected to his plans and Richard Woods foolishly decided to drive home to Longridge. He was breathalysed on the way and found to be more than three times the legal limit.

Woods, 39, of Higher Road, Longridge, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol. He was fined £500 with £40 costs and disqualified from driving for 30 months.

Woods, who gave a reading of 112 against the legal limit of 35, agreed to be referred to the drink-driving rehabilitation programme which, if completed successfully, will reduce his ban by up to 25 per cent.

Silvia Dacre, prosecuting, said a police officer on duty at 2.40am saw a car being driven erratically. At one stage it was doing just 20 mph as it swerved across the road and then accelerated up to about 60mph.

Ivan Dickinson, defending, said Woods had been in the Talbot and accepted that he had drunk numerous pints of bitter.

"He went to his car with the intention of sleeping in it until the following morning and only drove off when the landlord objected to him staying on the car park and told him to leave," said Mr Dickinson.

He said Woods had been employed as a driver with Sam Longman Ltd for the past 14 years and had had to give up that work as a result of the offence.

"That is already a very serious punishment for him," added Mr Dickinson.