Kevin Dicks, 22, of Lothian Avenue, Fleetwood, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol when he appeared before Blackpool magistrates.

Martine Connah, prosecuting, said Dicks was in a Citroen Saxo on Talbot Road, Blackpool, on February 12, at 3.50am.

He told a police patrol he wanted to report his car had been damaged.

But police could smell alcohol on his breath and a breath test showed 53 micrograms of alcohol in his body – 35 is the limit.

Brett Chappell, defending, said his client, who had no previous convictions, had parked his car in Blackpool and gone on a night out with friends.

He had no intention of driving, but when he returned to get some items he needed for the night, he found his car had been broken into.

He foolishly decided to drive to the police station to report it, but on the way saw a police patrol and flagged the officers down.

Dicks was disqualified from driving for 12 months, fined £80 with £85 costs and ordered to pay the £15 victims' surcharge.